


Soonhoon All Year Round

by Teitatoo



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alpha Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Alpha Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, M/M, Omega Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Omega Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Post-Break Up, Slight Smut, reader's prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 04:34:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20772611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teitatoo/pseuds/Teitatoo
Summary: What you want, you can get it here!A year project, in which I would like to present you 27 stories based on readers ideas!Want yours to be included too?





	1. Introduction of the project

Hello~!

I would like to start a project, a SOONHOON ONE (duh, because what else?), where I'll be posting a story every two weeks. The thing is, I would like to write it based on YOUR prompts!

The project will start in November and every two weeks on the weekend I would post a 5-15k word soonhoon. 27 weeks you'd get 27 stories!

I prepared a [special form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkPF7oO9aYavHcXgQNdbuNVRLfgwQhj7kboDlMrJCwoepslA/viewform?usp=sf_link) to use during writing your prompts. It's easier for me to use than look through comments, and all readers will be nicely surprised when they wouldn't know what would be the plot and so on! Sadly, but I'm not gonna use the prompts if someone will post them in the comment section! The form is not very time-consuming, there are optional and open questions, so it should go pretty fast!

I'm open to a lot of things! I also want to try something new (but I suck at smut (haha...) of course, I'll try my best but smut in my rendition might be a little disappointing ^-^") 

The prompts would need to go through a reading first to determine if they are proper. After 27 accepted prompts, the form will be closed (if I'll know how to close it because I'm Soonyoung when it comes to technology). 

The very first added prompt is going to be an opening piece! Starting from the 2nd prompt, I'll be picking them randomly through a draw (I'll be the draw hahaha). At the end of every story, the title of the next one would be revealed! 

Something more might be revealed on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/teitatoo)!

Can't wait for your ideas!!! 

~Tei


	2. Guardian Angel (ft. MinWon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entry #1  
Fluff with schoolboys by Az!!
> 
> Let's all thank Az for this idea!

The cafeteria during a lunch break is always a loud and messy place. Sometimes even getting a sit by the table can be a challenge. Some students having to sit by the walls, some going out to their’s school garden to enjoy the meal and nice weather. Jihoon and his small circle of friends managed to claim one of the usual tables they were sitting at. Seungkwan, the loudest kid you would ever know, is again talking about all the rumors going around the school. Jihoon is sure the younger is doing to make an excellent reporter someday. He has such personality that makes anyone share things with him. The enthusiasm and light he shares makes everyone like him, Jihoon envies that a little bit.

“SO! You’ll never guess what I heard!” If someone paid Jihoon everytime he hears it, he would be a billionaire already.

“This is about one of our school’s best boys, everyone!” At that, even a few people from the tables near them, shushed and started listening. 

Of course, the “best boys” of their school is a hot topic. As hot as them, probably. There are five of them. The oldest is Seungcheol, killer smile, handsome, smart, rich and kind. Almost perfect. The second is Jeonghan, pretty, highly intelligent, even if he’s lazy. People fall into the trap of his words and find themselves indebted to him. There’re a lot of rumors of these two dating, but were never addressed by them or actually confirmed. But Jihoon just knows they are dating. He knows.

The third “best boy” is the self-proclaimed handsomest person in the whole world - Wen Junhui. He indeed is very handsome, his proportions are blowing out the minds of many students. He aspires to be an actor, so you can find him coming up to random people and starting movie - like - monologues, as he says, to practise. A very interesting person. He sometimes meows during classes, Jihoon shares a few with him. The first few times it happened, the teachers were speechless, but now they barely pay attention to it. What only makes Jun meow more. During breaks he gets meowed back at by the next “best boy”, Wonwoo. Surprisingly. Because Wonwoo isn’t one to joke. He’s stoic, all deep voice and intimidating aura. He is usually seen with a book in hand, glasses on his face and some notes sticking from the book. He studies a lot because his father is very strict with him and his future as a new CEO of their family business.

There’s also Soonyoung, of course. The most unproblematic teen, as per what the teachers say. Smoking hot, in Jihoon’s opinion, pure sunshine, even if he opens up only with people close to him. But when he does, everyone within eyesight is blinded. Jihoon believes his smile can cure cancer (duh, obviously not, but try imagining a world without that smile! There would be many more cases of illnesses!). His tiger agenda makes half of his fangirls and fanboys to bring him tiger themed accessories. The most embarrassing was that one time he got a gift from a fangirl and opened it during lunch break. The bright orange thongs with a roaring tiger’s head at the front, was a topic of the month! He might look like a usual bad boy sometimes, especially if he’s not with his friends. He becomes very quiet then, eyes sharp and the smile nowhere to be seen, as long as no one address him. There’s a lot on his plate, everyone knows this, as his father once came to school to scold him during a class for not doing enough, when his mark dropped one semester.

There are also two more people, not really considered as “best boys”, but important enough to mention. Joshua, or Jisoo, is Jeonghan’s cousin and is often seen with them. All other boys like him a lot, and he has lots of fangirls himself, as he’s gentleman like, with his soft looks and soft spoken words. But the fact that he’s the one, along with Jeonghan, who’s behind many pranks pulled on the other students, is usually being unnoticed by all of the student body. Chan, Soonyoung’s cousin, is also often seen with the “best boys” but he’s still a freshman, so he just started building his reputation and not many pays much attention to him.

Everyone adores them, looks up to them, some even try to be like them. So of course, any news about them would be a hot topic. Jihoon isn’t really interested.

“And, that’s about our Prince Charming!” And now Jihoon’s interested. Soonyoung once joked that he’s a prince, going as far as dressing like a king, one Halloween. The title sticked since that time, and now, he’s known as Prince Charming.

Everyone “ohh”-ed and “ahh”-ed as a rumor concerning Soonyoung is a very rare occurrence. Seungkwan is smiling like he just won a lottery, more people leaning in to listen. 

“Sunday morning, cute cafe, a date.” Some girls are squealing at that, giggling, whispering among themselves. And Jihoon thinks it’s familiar, the way Seungkwan chose the words, the order he placed them in. And then, Jihoon wants to curse, as he looks at Seungkwan grinning like a maniac.

“Someone saw messages like that on his phone. But they don’t know who is at the receiving end, as the contact was named as “Kitten”. There are people saying that they might have saw him with someone that day.” Jihoon can see that Seungkwan is very excited about the topic, making those around him excited as well.

“Kitten? Then, it’s maybe Jun?” Mingyu, his second best friend, or well, first and only best friend now, as Jihoon decided to drop Seungkwan, is now also invested in the matter, trying very hard to think of possibilities. Seungkwan is shaking his head furiously.

“No, no, no! Those people saying they saw Soonyoung with someone are sure, the other person was smaller than him.” Everyone’s whispering trying to work out who is that person Soonyoung might be dating, Jihoon just sighs.

“I know you don’t care about all those news, but you could at least try to look excited, Jihoon.” Of course, Seungkwan tries to engage him in everything. He’s always saying Jihoon doesn’t participate in life at all, so it’s his job to make him.

Jihoon smiles and nods at him, thinking about how he would like to be home already. Seungkwan moved his chair closer and is now looking at him expectantly, making Vernon laugh at how ridiculous he’s looking.

“I don’t know, Seungkwan. I wouldn’t believe these people. And if what they say is true, I feel bad, because they invaded his personal space and life. Don’t you think that if he had someone special, wouldn’t he want to share it with the whole school?”

Seungkwan is humming softly, considering what he just said. Jihoon knows he didn’t make the younger less excited about that matter. Probably nothing can lower his excitation right now. It’s really big to have a gossip about Kwon Soonyoung, he is always good and cautious. Mingyu is still talking about who can be Prince Charming’s lover.

“That would make them a ‘Princess’, right?!” Seungkwan is laughing at that, loud and high -pitched, Vernon is snorting too, but Jihoon doesn’t find it funny at all. He doesn’t want to gain Kwan’s attention again by groaning, so he just fake smiles and try to cover his lack of enthusiasm by starting to eat again. 

Their laughter dies down and they go back to talk about who the mysterious someone is. It gets more hushed too, other people minding their own tables’ business. Jihoon is quietly finishing his lunch when suddenly, right next to him, a deep voice greets them. Well, not really them, but Mingyu.

The story of how Wonwoo, the most unapproachable one from the ‘best boys’, started dating his clumsy and awkward friend is one beyond his understanding. Mingyu, being himself, full -force bumped into Wonwoo, like a total idiot that he is, and damaged one of his books. Jihoon didn’t see it happen but he heard it was hilarious as Wonwoo was close to blowing up and Mingyu almost shedded tears because of that book. The younger of them promised he’ll buy a new copy for Wonwoo, and then, after a week they were dating. How? Even Mingyu couldn't tell him for sure.

On his right Wonwoo is standing, looking straight at Mingyu, who is a blushing mess, even after three months of them going out. Right next to Wonwoo, Soonyoung is standing, looking at his phone, gripping it tightly and smiling to himself. He rises his eyes and when he catches Jihoon looking, he smiles, eyes creating that beautiful crescents people fall for. Jihoon blushes and smiles back, cursing at himself for laughing at Mingyu for being this obvious, when he himself isn’t any better. Thanks to Seungkwan’s curiosity on the new rumor, he misses the way Jihoon is acting, in favor to ask about the issue.

“I’m sorry to prey like that but, Soonyoung-ssi, are you dating someone?”

Jihoon can see the boy in question almost dropped the phone and is groaning. Seungkwan almost got to apologize for his bluntness, but Soonyoung is looking at him, shaking his head.

“I got asked about that a lot today.” He’s laughing quietly. Jihoon feels bad for him. People must have pester him to hear about that matter the whole day.

“If there was someone really special for me and we’d like you all to know, you would.”

Soonyoung sounds like he’s tired of it all, his bitter smile makes Jihoon think deeply about that situation. Seungkwan still says sorry for upsetting the other and Soonyoung just smiles wider. Wonwoo looks uncomfortable too, so he just mentions Mingyu to give him a hug, what melts every heart around them. The two ‘best boys’ take their leave after that and their table goes back to eating the food, as the break is nearing its end. Jihoon’s thoughts running at full speed, watching the two receding backs with worry.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Jihoon takes the two carefully prepared teas with lemon and honey, and heads into another room. This area is warm, homey, to be honest it’s the only one like that in the big mansion. There are a lot of pictures hanging on one of the walls, a mashup of precious moments, both old and new ones. The second wall is full of posters, mostly SHINee ones and few other SM groups, some were of popular anime’s, study desk and a small shelf with books are covered in papers. The third wall has a big window and doors leading to the balcony, covered with long, silky, white curtains, with a tall flower placed in a corner. The last wall has another door, leading to a spacious wardrobe, and a big bed standing in the middle of the room. 

Jihoon sits on the bed, after placing the teas on a small night stand, arms circling his body and pressing him into a strong chest.

“Thank you, Love.”

Jihoon smiles at that and turns around so he can lay more comfortably. The older smiles down at him and kisses his forehead, as Jihoon is nuzzling the side of his head into Soonyoung’s neck. They both sigh contently at the feeling of being together, warmth covering them like a blanket, making them feel happy and safe.

“Were they really asking you that much about the dating rumor?” Jihoon finally asks after a moment, the guilt making him feel sad. Soonyoung hugs him tighter and kisses the crown of his head.

“It’s not like I care that much about them, baby.” It’s the only answer and Jihoon is not liking it. He sits up, looking at Soonyoung sternly.

“If it’s a problem, I don’t mind telling people.” Soonyoung is shaking his head, but Jihoon continues. “You looked tired, when Seungkwan asked you.” Soon smiles at that, looking at Jihoon tenderly.

“It’s alright. I can be tired for you.” The younger, yet again, is a blushing mess. He has to look away from Soonyoung to maintain a somewhat straight face, even when a big smile is adoring his features. “I know you still feel unsure about us.” Soonyoung adds.

“But I don’t. I know we like each other because we want to, not because our parents do. I feel safe with you.” 

Now, it’s Soonyoung’s turn to blush furiously. It’s true they started going out because of their parents, both fathers wanting to strengthen the connection between their companies. Jihoon was pressed by his parents a lot that time, as he didn’t really want to start dating the loud, snobbish kid from one of his classes. But his father’s company was undergoing very hard times then, so working with Kwon was a desirable thing. They were both unwilling at the start as all they could see were the differences between them, but with time they found out, that actually, they have many things in common. And the rest of them aren’t that hard to accept.

Now, here they are, in the warm room of silent house of Kwon’s, with hearts full and smiles on their faces. Jihoon suddenly started feeling awkward so he reaches for the teas, giving one to Soonyoung and sipping on the other. 

“We can still wait, you know. It’ll bring a lot of people around you, and you like your silence.” Soonyoung is concerned about the outcome of a sudden news of them dating. And have for some time already. Even their friends don’t know of them, though he has a feeling Wonwoo is suspicious about him for a few weeks now.

“It’s alright, Soonie. I miss you everyday at school, so it’ll only benefit us. We’ll be able to spend more time together.”

Soonyoung still shakes his head and tells him to wait a bit longer, as they are halfway into the first semester of their last year in high school. It will make them less concentrated on their studies, and both of them know they have to make everything to get the best marks they can. Their future is in their hands.

  
  


* * *

  
  


All the plans can go and f*** themselves, when the next week comes. Both Soonyoung and Jihoon thought people would let go of the rumor, but to their not really a pleasant surprise, a week later, still a lot of students are coming up to Soonyoung and asking about his ‘date’. It got to the point the older can’t freely walk around the school without someone stopping him for a conversation. The rumor rose to such extent it became a story on its own. 

Some students said they saw Soonyoung kissing someone in a cafe, being extremely handsy, intrusive even. There were episodes of people accusing Soonyoung of being jealous and not letting the person he’s dating any freedom, caging them. The boy in question is always trying to explain it’s not like that and he wasn’t kissing anyone, more so restraining another person. But the inquiry is not stopping even almost two weeks after the rumor started. 

Jihoon broke during lunch break on Thursday. He was quietly eating, just like always. Seungkwan and Mingyu were being loud, laughing about something that happened during one of the classes. Vernon, same as Jihoon, wasn’t really joining them much, more interested in his food. They so happened to be one of the first groups in the cafeteria, so they were sitting quite close the table of the “best boys”, who were enjoying their lunch as well. 

Suddenly, three girls come close to Soonyoung, one of them is a very famous fangirl of his, common knowledge is, she’s in love with him. That alone alarms Jihoon, as he always pays attention to the ones trying to become chummy with his boyfriend. From the distance of their tables he can still hear what they are talking about, as the cafeteria is surprisingly quiet this day.

“Soonyoung -ssi, can you please tell us, if the rumor is true and you are dating someone? More so, a boy?” Jihoon doesn’t know why that question is making him unnerved about their intentions towards Soonyoung. But he stops eating and is now bluntly staring at their table, trying to kill the girls with his eyes. Even Seungkwan realises that and starts listening himself.

“I would really appreciate if you all stopped coming to me just to ask about this. I already said that it’s my private life and I don’t want to share that part.” Soonyoung goes back to eating after saying this, and Jihoon can see how tired his boyfriend is because of all the interrogations going on. But the girls are still standing there.

“We just want your ‘yes’ or ‘no’, so we’ll know. We’re your fans, we want to help you.” The girl in love with Soonyoung places her hand on his shoulder and this is what makes Jihoon see red. He immediately stands up and march over their table. Soonyoung doesn’t even has the time to answer the girl, when Jihoon is in front of them, pushes her hand away and looking straight into her eyes, he says.

“Yes, he is dating a boy, now get lost.” And then he kisses Soonyoung, the whole cafeteria silent, Soonyoung shocked enough to not respond to the kiss. When Jihoon straightens again he hears his boyfriend say quietly a small “Jihoonie” before the hell breaks out. 

The whole cafeteria is now a mess, Seungkwan is at him, asking why the hell did he just kiss one of the “best boys”, every fangirl and fanboy that proclaim themselves in love with Soonyoung, crying like it’s the end of the world, Wonwoo trying to hold Mingyu who’s reaching to grab Jihoon for an explanation, everyone talking about what just happened. Soonyoung tugs at Jihoon’s sweater and when the younger looks into his eyes he can see worry and.. sadness?

“Jihoonie, you didn’t have to.” Jihoon just smiles at his boyfriend and grabs his hand, motioning for them to leave the place.

When they’re out in the garden, Soonyoung hugs him close and buries his face in his neck. Jihoon feels the pressure leave his body and a strange calmness filling his mind. He discovers he can finally breathe freely without some weight restraining him. He knows their friends will demand an explanation but it can wait, he’s there with the love of his life and he’s enjoying just being close, swinging lightly to the music of the wind.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Here you are!” Both of them looked at their friends, now coming to them at a fast pace. They are still in the garden, even if the next period of classes already ended. Seungkwan looks really mad, and Jihoon kind of wants to disappear from the surface of the world. You NEVER want to face Boo when he’s mad. “We were looking for you the whole lunch break and now! What you two think you’re doing?! Vanishing like that!”

Vernon is the one to hold Kwan before he can reach and strangle them, and Jihoon is so thankful for having such a friend like him. He still wants his boyfriend to live. Surprisingly, the second one to start talking is the quiet Wonwoo.

“Why haven’t you told us?!” This is directed at Soonyoung, and Jihoon doesn’t dare to move as the other boy is towering over them, making him feel smaller that he really is. They knew that their friends would be upset but clearly, even Soonyoung is surprised at the outburst of his best friend. “Explain!”

“Yeah, explain!” That was Kwan, again, trying to look intimidating. But he suddenly breaks his facade and starts giggling, everyone looking at him. He starts hitting Vernon lightly and squealing to him softly. “Oh my god, the “best boys”! And Wonwoo! Oh my god! I can’t believe it!” That take the attention off of them and Soonyoung looks at Jihoon, a silent question of ‘are we running away’ clear is his eyes, but before Jihoon can nod, Seungkwan clears his throat and glares at them again.

“Don’t even think of running away.” Jihoon sighs and looks at all of them, a small unsure smile on his face. The silence stretches, everyone’s looking at each other, waiting for the first person to break. That person turns out to be Jeonghan, who starts laughing, almost falling on his knees, clutching his stomach like it hurts. Soonyoung smiles brightly at that and chuckles, same as the rest of the “best boys”, even if Wonwoo is still making Jihoon feel like he’s out of place.

“We’re sorry.” Soonyoung starts. Everyone gathers around them, sitting comfortably on a bench in front, some on the pavement, or their bags (that’s Mingyu). The older takes Jihoon’s hand and continues. “Jihoonie and I, we know each other for a long time already. Our dads are business partners actually. And they were the ones that pushed us to date.”

“So, it’s like a completely arranged thing?” It’s Seungcheol who dares to ask this. Both of them shake their heads at that but their friends just look at them suspiciously. 

“At first we were against it. Or, well, I was against it. But we clicked and started going out two and a half year ago.” Jihoon adds fast.

“WHEN?!” Seungkwan stands up and starts going in circles before them, holding his head. Joshua takes a shaky breath in and helps Jeonghan, as the older chokes on his own saliva. Mingyu looks like a fish taken out of water, his mouth opening and closing, eyes lost. Wonwoo just looks at Soonyoung, waiting for some sort of a reaction from him, maybe a laugh and words that it’s just a prank. Vernon looks a lot like Wonwoo, just staring blankly at them. The tension in the air is so thick, one can slice it with a knife, when Chan suddenly comes running up to them, smiling at his cousin happily.

“Woah, I finally found you guys! I heard what happened during last break! What did I miss?” He is still grinning even as his eyes lands on the clasped hands of Soonyoung and Jihoon. He looks around when no one answers him and frowns a little. “Well?”

“Apparently-” started Seungcheol. “You missed two and a half year of relationship of your cousin.” He says it like he still can’t believe he actually heard it right. Soonyoung smiles at Chan a little, with an apology written on his face.

“I thought you two weren’t together?” That’s what makes everyone look at Chan instead. The frown adoring the face of the youngest was evident. But then, he is smiling bright and hugging Soonyoung and Jihoon. “I’m so happy for you two! Congrats, hyungs!”

“Son, explain!” Jeonghan demands, and Jihoon can’t get more confused at what’s currently happening there. Chan turns around and starts giggling, running to his other hyung and sitting close.

“Jihoon -hyung is the son of uncle’s business partner and I remember that during one of the important dinners, uncle went all serious and suddenly said he want them to date. You should have seen their faces then!” He laughing bright, remembering the scene. “Jihoon -hyung’s face went all white, and if looks could kill we wouldn’t have Soon -hyung here today!”

After that, the explaining went a little better, but Jihoon can tell, not all of them believed their story. It might be a little hard to understand as him and Soonyoung barely had any contact in school. At least a contact that people would notice. They were good at keeping it only at few locking of eyes and subtle smiles, so no one really catched up they even know each other. After they went home, Jihoon felt some uneasiness settling somewhere in his stomach. If it was so hard to convince their friends, the rest of the student body would be even more suspicious. All he can do now is to deeply sigh, and ready himself for the next day and even more questions being thrown at them. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Jihoon wasn’t wrong that the student’s wouldn’t really buy the whole thing. Soonyoung contacted the person responsible for the school’s website, and asked for them to write a new article that would clear up the situation. The news gained a lot of attention, despite it being released close to 10pm. Soonyoung finished his message with ‘Please, support us!’, but the comments under the post weren’t all that nice.

Jihoon spent half of his night monitoring what was happening under it and couldn’t believe people would be this cruel. There were a few that wished them all the best, or were expressing their surprise at how well they were able to hide their relationship. But most of the students commenting were pointing out that they never interacted, that they disappeared after the lunch break, probably to discuss the story they wanted to feed them. Soonyoung didn’t revealed all the details of their story, including the time they started dating, and people speculated that Jihoon, being a normally nice person, had enough of Soonyoung being pestered of something he might want to hide from his father, so he took such action he did. Someone even checked if Kwon’s company had a partner named Lee.

Nevertheless, when they came together to school this morning, they were greeted by a lot of people, everyone being overly nice. Only some of them stopped them for a short conversation, but all the words being said then were supportive. The problem arose when Soonyoung left him in a classroom and went to his own classes. Jihoon felt weird all morning, like someone was watching him, like something bad would happen. 

He is sitting at his desk now, getting ready for the lesson. Suddenly someone pokes his shoulder, so he looks up. What greets him is a face of a girl he knows from this particular class, but they never really talked. But it clicks pretty fast why she approached him.

“Jihoon -ssi.” He nods, as he doesn’t want to be seen as rude. She smiles tightly but drops it almost immediately. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” He looks at the clock hanging above the classroom’s board. There’s still five minutes left until the bell rings, so he nods again, stands up and follows her outside.

“We really appreciate your selfless act from yesterday, we were already tired of seeing Oppa so worn out because of the questions, especially from that witches.” Jihoon is confused for a few seconds before he realises, that girl is also one of the _ Sunshines _, Soonyoung’s second fanbase, if you can call a few enthusiastic fangirls as that. Yes, Soonyoung has two fanbases. The first one are mostly made up of people blindly in love with him and trying to get him for themselves. The second one is the more mature one also, they always try to think of Soonyoung’s wishes and opinions, so they’re easier to deal with.

But Jihoon can’t seem to understand what is going on right now. He blinks a few times and furrows his brows. 

“We saw you arriving with Oppa this morning. We know it’s probably so no one will kill you, but we swear that if you think of some way to clear out everything in a way Soonyoung-oppa will be cleared of any controversial accusations, we will make sure you are safe and sound. Please, think it over.”

She leaves him there standing stunned, not really knowing what to do. The only thing that makes him move is that fangirl that was bugging his boyfriend yesterday, looking at him with hatred filling her eyes. If it isn’t for the realisation she wants to murder him, he would laugh at her almost boiling from anger. He gets inside the classroom and finds himself lost in his thoughts for the rest of the lesson.

  
  


* * *

The whole day Jihoon was restless, everyone approaching him and asking million of questions, some even threatening him, saying he should drop the act and leave Soonyoung alone. But it’s happening only when Kwon can’t see. When he’s close by or talking with Jihoon, no one even looks at him. It’s confusing him, but also making him think through his careless act and too many emotions bursting and claiming Soonyoung, when they agreed to make it a little bit slower. That day’s a bitch but somehow he managed to not die and get out of the school still in one piece.

Soonyoung was worried the whole weekend as Jihoon told him that they couldn’t meet. That of course is not stopping the older to send a message once an hour, whining when Jihoon isn’t replying. He laughs at how silly his boyfriend is, but when his phone dings again, signalling a new message coming, he frowns. Friday evening, he got the first not so nice message from a number he doesn’t know. He didn’t reply, but the messages keep coming, and from more and more different people. The new one says ‘_ Stop making Soonyoung-ssi lie like that, you’re worthless, who would want to date you!’ _

He sighs, his mood going down again. Those three days he was getting more depressed with every new message Soonyoung still doesn't know about them, and Jihoon doesn’t want him to worry. So he deletes every message, the longer ones even without reading. Yesterday he was crying himself to sleep when Soonyoung called. The older immediately got worried and wanted to come over, but Jihoon told him it was only a very intense stomach ache and he already got a painkiller for it. They talked for an hour and Jihoon fell asleep without knowing. 

Monday came fast and Jihoon is standing now enveloped by his sweet boyfriend’s arms. Jihoon always liked the way Soonyoung’s hugs make him feel. Warm, safe and loved. He hopes his own hugs make the older at least a bit comforted. Soonyoung takes his hand and pulls him in the direction of their school.

“How’s your tummy?” Jihoon smiles, falling against Soonyoung’s side, head landing on top of his shoulder.Soonyoung smiles too, happy that Jihoon is acting cute again.

“It’s all better, I must have eaten something bad.” They continue the walk to the school talking happily. Jihoon feels himself relax, all the bad emotions leaving him. Soonyoung leaves him in front of his classroom, hugging him again and placing a soft kiss on Jihoon’s forehead and nuzzling the top of his head.

After the class Jihoon joined Mingyu, and now they’re going to leave their books in the lockers. That’s when Jihoon discovered the day would be very long. His locker is already open when they get there, some of his stuff is lying on the floor. Some people standing nearby are laughing when he starts picking his things up. Mingyu is glaring at them, helping his hyung. They examine together the broken locker, the lock is hanging from it. Jihoon can see it’s not going to get repaired by simply some screwdriver. He sighs yet again and tries to ignore the snickering of other students. Suddenly there’s a hand on the small of his back.

“What’s going on?” Soonyoung looks at the broken locker, then at Jihoon, confusion clear on his face. For a moment, the younger thought he saw some worry. Wonwoo, who came along with Soonyoung, greets Mingyu with a kiss and looks at the things the two are holding.

“My locker broke. I have to go and get the janitor to help me.” Jihoon pouts as he ponders if he’ll have enough time to do it before the next period starts. Soonyoung seeing this squeals and cuddles Jihoon to his side, whispering about how cute he is. Wonwoo looks disgusted at such display of affection and Mingyu is just baffled that his ‘don’t-touch-me’ hyung is letting another person do such a thing to him.

“Come on, Jihoonie. We’ll get your stuff into my locker, and during the next break you can go to the janitor and tell him, alright?!” Without waiting for Jihoon’s confirmation, he starts taking out books and notebooks from the youngers locker. When they managed to take everything out, Soonyoung holds Jihoon’s left hand and pulls him into the other corridor. The students gathered close to Jihoon’s broken locker are going red with jealousy at what Soonyoung just did.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The day continues to be awful, as Jihoon’s usual desk in the other classroom has some not exactly nice comments written all over it. He even got reprimanded because the teacher thought it was him who did it. A lot of people are bumping into him wherever he goes. And everytime Soonyoung comes to his rescue, and he comes almost every time, it gets only worse. 

The whole week students were making him feel bad, laughing that Soonyoung is pitying him, the story of how their parents first thought of them dating, made everyone think it’s only the respect Soonyoung has towards his father that makes him stay with him. Jihoon got more and more threats, and even a few bruises thanks to some buff fanboys of his boyfriend who made him fall on his butt of into the walls or other things.

Soonyoung was almost like his shadow, especially these last two days, his whole being worried about Jihoon and his silence. Because, yes, Jihoon got silent, he tries to avoid visible affection with Soonyoung, and he can understand that. If it didn’t move onto their private life. 

It’s Friday when Soonyoung snaps. He knows that people are all accepting only in front of him, but when Jihoon is alone, they are merciless and do all the bad things that are happening to his little boyfriend. He knows Jihoon is too good and doesn’t want him to worry, especially that he was the one that made this little mess. He knows Jihoon is hurting and he doesn’t like it. That’s why he always try to be next to Jihoon, going as far as to sprinting out of the classrooms simultaneously with the bell and running in the direction of Jihoon’s class. 

But there are times he can’t do that.

His P.E. teacher is very strict, always trying to tire them out, not minding it being the first or the last lesson. The common knowledge is,Soonyoung sweats a lot. And fast. So after every P.E. he has to take a shower. The teacher lets them off a little earlier than the bell, but it still doesn’t give him enough time to shower AND get to Jihoon in time. So when he gets to where his boyfriend should wait for him and doesn’t find him, he panics. 

He runs to the lockers (Jihoon is still keeping all his stuff in Soonyoung’s locker) but there’s no sight of Jihoon. He asks some people standing there if they saw him but they shake their heads and continue to talk. He manages to find their friends but they didn’t see Jihoon either. That makes them all look for the black haired boy. Soonyoung finally finds him in a rarely used corridor leading to the basement, but the scene before him is not one he would like to see ever again.

Jihoon is sitting on the tiles, his back against the wall, left hand clutching his right forearm. There’s some blood in the corner of his mouth. He’s being held by four girls, two are blocking his knees, so they won’t bend, one is pressing his right shoulder into the wall and the forth one is tightly gripping his hair. Three more are standing before Jihoon, one looks like she would hit Jihoon any second, her hands are curled into fists. 

Soonyoung feels like he can’t move, only stare at his beloved in such a state. The anger inside of him reaches its peak and just after one of the girls looks up and at him and gasps, he storms forward pushing all of them away from Jihoon, even growling when one of the girls pressing down Jihoon’s knee doesn’t react fast enough and blocks his way for a second too long. He takes Jihoon’s face in his hands and strokes his cheeks.

“Are you alright, Love?” When Jihoon smiles at him, although it’s strained, he smiles too. But then his eyes become hard as he faces the girls still standing there stunned. He makes a low hum, and looks at every girl in the eyes, his aura going dark, threatening.

“If anyone as much as even looks at my boyfriend in a way I wouldn’t like, they’re dead. You understand?” The girls all nodded and run away as fast as they could, one even falling down in the haste to get away. Soonyoung watches them leave.

“They didn’t really do that much damage. You didn’t have to scare them so much.” Soonyoung looks back at Jihoon, his eyes immediately going soft and worry replacing anger inside of them. He wipes off the droplet of blood that still sits on Jihoon’s mouth. The next moment the younger throws his arms around Soonyoung’s neck and hugs him.

“I’m alright. They just pinched me very hard and one of them punched me, that’s why my lips broke. I’m sorry for worrying you.” Jihoon nuzzled his face into the side of Soonyoung’s neck, smiling at the familiar scent filling him. The older holds him closer and takes a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down. 

“From now on, I don’t care who is it, if they hurt you, I hurt them.” Jihoon laughs at that, trying to lower the tension his boyfriend feels. He was scared but it’s not like he wouldn’t get out of that situation. They just got him by surprise and he didn’t have time to react before Soonyoung appeared. Jihoon lets himself relax with Soonyoung’s arms holding him close. “I tried to be there every time someone was mean to you.”

Jihoon giggles and just hugs Soonyoung tighter. Then he kisses him and rests their foreheads together. “I know, Love. You’re my personal guardian angel, after all.”

They smile at each other and kiss again. If anyone is going to try and break them another time, Soonyoung is sure he’ll get them. His precious Jihoonie will be always safe with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize!! I had a very hard week and I couldn't update earlier T_____T I had project after project (I didn't manage to finish one of them on time). This week is better as I have one day off and less lectures overall.
> 
> I don't know if I managed to get the story well... This whole thing is for me to learn how to write new things in new ways (hello present tenses, and goodbye, I'm not gonna use you anymore), but I have a feeling I kinda ... didn't finish it well? I hope you like it still! Sorry for all the mistakes! I tried to smooth it out as best as I can.
> 
> So, I already chose the prompt for the next story! It's all in a hashtag #snhnayr on twitter, if you want to get some samples and news you can always check it! And the next story would be titled as "The Irony" !!!!
> 
> Again, Az, I hope you liked the story and it met your expectations!
> 
> You can still send in your prompts here: https://forms.gle/7cLcADFxFsZG1cVZ6


	3. The Irony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entry #2 and the second story for this project!
> 
> Fluff with a little bit of angst by Jam!
> 
> Word count: 7313

Sometimes Jihoon thinks about dropping the work and leaving the city to live in a forest. When he is getting, what the two bosses call it, a project, it’s normal that he needs some time until he can proudly tell them he’s done with it. But lately, the bosses are putting more pressure on him, wanting to have the results right now, even when he tells them he still hasn’t found a way to make it right. It gets even worse when a contract for another person expires and they don’t extend it. That just means more work for him, and of course, more pressure. He already has an ongoing mission but he just got called into their office and was presented with a new file.

Jihoon massaged his temples when he sat down in his small cubicle. There’s a moment of silence before Junhui marches into his space and sits on top of his desk, already opening the file Jihoon just got from the bosses. Right after Jun, Wonwoo comes in and nods slightly as a greeting.

“Ohhhh, that’s an interesting one!” Jun gives the file to Wonwoo and looks back to Jihoon. “He’s cute.” Ji can only groan because, damn, he knows that, he saw the picture attached! He knows what’s Jun getting at. His friends know his type and that guy surely fits himself just right into it. It’s not like getting his feeling involved is a problem for Jihoon, when he works, he works. Feelings are not part of his job. But sometimes it’s hard to start on the mission when you have a cutie as the main part of it.

“Don’t they give you many hard missions lately?” It’s Wonwoo who speaks, still reading the file that Jihoon didn’t really go through himself. He doesn’t know it the things he’s getting lately are hard or not. He’s always preparing for every possibility so the mission itself is usually easy to carry and finish. The problem is, Jihoon just wants a break. Some nice time off, when he would be able to relax, maybe go visit China or Japan. The “nice” boss promised him that after the one he’s currently almost finishing, he’ll be able to go for a longer vacation. Well, surprise, but he have to endure a little longer.

He gets up and takes the file away from Wonwoo, then starts pushing them out of his cubicle. 

“Thanks for the concern but I have things to do, bye!” He closes the door and sighs deeply. After being sure they two went away from his space he gets back to his desk, stands there for a little while and ponders whether to study his new project or make sure with the ongoing one everything is settled. He decides for the latter, so he takes the new file with a photo on which a cutie is smiling up at him, and places it on one of the shelves filled with other files.

“I’ll get back to you later.” He says, almost expecting a bubbly voice that would suit the boy he has info about inside, to answer him, that he’ll wait for Jihoon. He shakes his head and sighs. “You haven’t even started on this, and you’re already trying to fail? Wow, Jihoon, you have to get a grip on yourself.”

  
  


* * *

He packs all his equipment into the sport bag he brought with himself. He has about 20 minutes to get the fuck out of there, before they will find the man. He’s skilled enough to get to his car, parked two blocks away and starts driving. He gets in about 4 minutes to his favourite gym, gets out an identical bag, closes his car and goes for an hour workout. He takes his time, showers for about 7 minutes (3 minutes more than he normally does). It’s back in the car he finally takes the constantly ringing phone. 

“What?” 

“Wanna go drink, buddy?” It’s Jun, not like he was expecting someone else. He must have heard the news already.

“Yeah. Usual place?” After confirming with the older, he goes back home. Jihoon decided it’s alright to get a little more wild than he normally does, as he spent a lot of time preparing for that mission. Finishing it feels exhilarating. Being able to relax after a job well done. That’s why he wears that one pair of tight pants he owns, completing it with a dark button up with exposed shoulders, leaving a few buttons open. He styles his hair up and wonders if he should add some make up too. After a few minutes he decides that he might as well go for it, so he adds some dark hue in the corner of his eyes, black eyeliner and his favourite cherry lip balm so his lips would look a little bit fuller.

Jun is surprised, that’s an understatement. He’s aghast. The last time they had a pleasure to witness a hot Jihoon with hot makeup on, was when he wanted to get laid after the fiasco with his ex. Jihoon was genuinely infatuated but the guy wanted to kill him. They were dating for seven month before Jihoon started suspecting the other because of his strange behavior. If it wasn’t for the fact that the sorry excuse of a boyfriend forgot about his birthday, he would surely be sniffing flowers from the bottom. After the big break up, if you can call it like that, Jihoon was a little bit devastated as he really liked him. The frustration went so high he couldn’t get anything done. Wonwoo proposed then for Jihoon to get laid in order to get over the ill feelings and also get some outlet. 

“You gonna get some tonight?” Jihoon laughed at that, already expecting something like that from his friend. He just waved it off and told them to get inside. There’s a big crowd inside already, some people dancing, some still only drinking to get more courage. They squeezed their way to the bar, took one beer each and headed to find somewhere to sit. 

After drinking a few shots more, Jun decided he wants to have some fun on the dance floor. Wonwoo went with him, leaving Jihoon alone. If it wasn’t for the loud music coming at his every sense, he could even go to sleep. Deciding against fleeing the scene without at least one dance, he gets up and heads in the direction of a sea of people messily moving their bodies. There are a lot of them enjoying themselves alone so Jihoon doesn't feel that out of place. His intoxicated body doesn't realize that there's a person touching his left hip bone until said person almost licks his ear, whispering (or rather talking normally) into it. 

"Why such a hottie is dancing on his own?" Jihoon doesn't know that voice and the stranger doesn't let him turn around, curling his right arm around his waist. It's not a threatening grip, so Jihoon let's himself relax into the strong chest, dropping his head back against the stranger's shoulder. The man is taller than him, and he laughs at himself for expecting someone smaller, the giggle makes that tall man tilt his head a little to look at Jihoon’s face. That's when Jihoon realizes the stranger is kinda familiar, but the angle is not right, so Jihoon can’t tell when and where he saw such features. 

"Now I can't decide if you're more cute or hot." The grip tightens a bit around Jihoon and he squeeze the arms holding him too, nuzzling his face into the stranger's neck. He hears and feels the man chuckle, their bodies close, slightly swaying, missing the song’s beat completely. Jihoon thinks they must look like lovers and suddenly misses the idea of waking up next to someone dear. He sinks more into the warmth of the tall man and moans when warm lips start touching his forehead and temple. The low hum the taller man gives out, makes Jihoon feel like he could fall asleep in that embrace, suddenly being drowsy he wiggles slightly.

“I have to go to sleep.” His voice is weak and he feels the man hug him even closer. Jihoon hears a little laugh and the man first bits lightly and then kisses his ear.

“Should I let you go, or maybe take you home and tuck you into my bed, hmmm? You’re too cute to pass the chance of having you to myself.” It’s Jihoon who laughs now, finally getting a hold of the situation he’s in. He opens his eyes, he didn’t even remember closing, and looks around, trying to spot Wonwoo and Jun.

“My friends would probably kill you if you went for the second option.” And he means it, they wouldn’t hesitate if some stranger just randomly took him away, without Jihoon letting them know. And besides, he still doesn’t have the time to fool around, even if it was for one night. He squeezes the stranger’s arms one last time. “We can see each other again here.”

“If you say so. Then, see you cute hottie.” And just like that the stranger is gone. He looks back and tries to find him but he doesn’t even know what to look for. He sighs and tries to find his friends. He wants to go home.

* * *

He opens the new file waiting for him for a few days already. The picture of a black haired smiling man with a slightly slanted eyes draws his attention almost instantly. He looks at him for a few moments and then proceeds to read the information.

“Kwon Soonyoung, 25 years old, son of the Ceo of Typhoon Records. Ah, I wonder if he’s a drama star himself, if his father is  _ The _ Ceo of  _ The _ Company. Owns a small dance studio in Songpa*, well that’s a little unexpected. But at least he’s nearby.” The file doesn’t tell him much really. Some generic stuff like height, weight, shoe size, like he cares much about the last one. He decides to look up the man on the Internet. There are few articles on gossip sites about Kwon dating or being seen with any woman, pretty normal for sites like those. There’s also the website of his dance studio, with a schedule available, there are classes for different ages and levels of advancement, with the names of the instructors written in the corner. It looks like there are two other people teaching, and Soonyoung is available for the advanced levels only. He doesn’t really have the time to spend it dancing away, trying to hop into the level he would be able to get a class with him.

But he finds a few videos and decides to watch them, as only to maybe get more information about the man. Most of them are filled with dance, and Jihoon has to admit, the man knows how to move his body well. He’s watching the seventh video, being entranced by the way Soonyoung’s hips sway to a slower beat, when Jun barges into his cubicle. Again.

“How’s my favourite little friend?” Jihoon ignores the ‘little’ comment, he no longer pays attention to Jun trying to rile him up, and stops the video.

“I’m working.” Jun smiles brightly and gets behind him, looking at his computer’s screen. He gasps and calls for Wonwoo, who was apparently already walking inside too. “He’s checking out the cute guy from the file! Is he dancing? Oh my god! Is he any good!?” Wonwoo goes next to Jun, while the latter clicks on the video and starts it again, making Jihoon sigh loudly.

“He’s good.” Wonwoo as always keeps his remarks to minimum, while Junhui is oohing and aahing about the man, and generally just gushing over him and how wonderful he moves and how beautiful his hair looks and oh my god look at that hip thrust, did you see that hip thrust, I could get pregnant out of it. And Jihoon is just purely annoyed right now, his posture getting more tense with every word that leaves Junhui’s mouth and he’s  _ this _ close to smacking the older over the head. Thank god for Wonwoo and his awesome people watching abilities because the next second he’s dragging Jun out, while the other whines he wants to watch more, and Jihoon just wants to go home.

* * *

He is sitting in a cafe near the dance studio that has a good view on the entrance of it. His third coffee is slowly getting colder as he doesn't like it too hot, his laptop opened and some file he still has to fill up after his last mission is halfway done. He's sitting there for two hours already, waiting for something to happen but to no avail. 

The cafe is busy, people going in and out, some are alone, some in pairs, there was one group of students just about twenty minutes ago. Some are enjoying their free time, some are trying to fit in anything warm during the rush in colder temperatures of autumn. And Jihoon still waits for certain someone to come out of his dance studio after his class that ended one and half an hour ago. 

He takes a sip of his coffee and looks back at his laptop, trying to will himself into doing the most dreadful part of every project. He reads again few last sentences and groans, closing the offending thing completely. He’s sitting there, massaging his temples, the headache building in, when he hears a quiet dingle of the door opening. He looks up and almost chokes. Kwon Soonyoung, followed by his co-worker and younger cousin Lee Chan, walks in, heading straight to the counter. He’s smiling brightly and talking with the younger, the cafe becoming even louder now.

Jihoon trails his eyes after the tall figure, trying to not be too obvious. He has his own ways, of course. One of them, currently being used, is a change in his sitting position to one facing his target more, one arm holding his phone is placed on the table, scrolling through his social media. He’s keeping Soonyoung in his line of vision, not looking directly but seeing him with the corner of his eyes. The male buys himself a latte, a frappuccino and two donuts. Jihoon is sure that when they were going out of the cafe, Kwon looked around and stopped at him for a second too long, but Jihoon decides to not pay too much attention to it.

The next schedule of Soonyoung should be a dinner with his parents, once in awhile occurrence in their family. His father as  _ the CEO _ is rarely home and since Soonyoung moved out to his own flat, they don’t usually eat together. Jihoon follows the taller a few cars away to his home. He parks on the other side of the road and observes the window with lights on. For a few times the man’s figure comes closer, and he can see the way he brushes his hair, looks at himself and then change the shirt. After the lights are turned off, Jihoon doesn’t wait for Kwon to even go out of the complex before he drives off in an opposite direction than the main mansion is. As he does so, he sees two cars, oddly familiar, that are parked a block away from the complex, inside he spots one of his coworkers from the dance studio, Seo Myungho. The name sounds a little bit off and Jihoon is sure, that’s just a cover name for him.

He wants to thank himself for being slightly paranoid about his job and taking a different route, but he curses at his lack of thinking, and missing the fact that Kwon Soonyoung might have bodyguards. That would also make sense, that one of his bodyguards were also his coworkers, as it makes them almost invisible with that second hidden mission of theirs. He looks into the back mirror and his mind stops for a second. One of the cars driving the lane on his left looks just like the one from before. He curses again and turns right at the next intersection. The car goes the same way, so he decides to stop near the next convenience store. 

While he’s going around, looking for something to eat, he sees in the corner of his eyes that Myungho guy standing in the line to the cashier with three cans of cola. When he gets out the car is still there, so he gets inside his car and calls Jun.

“Wanna hang out? The club? Mhmmm, sure. No, I’ve got a tail.” He opens the sandwich he bought himself and start munching at it, glancing sideways to the still present car that’s following him. Thank god, he’s wearing clothes presentable enough for a club, nothing like last time, but suiting for a drink or two. “Be there in ten minutes. Yeah, I’ll wait for you. Bye.”

He throws the phone on the seat beside and finishes the sandwich. Then he starts the car and goes straight to the club. He can see the car slowly strolling by the entrance to the club’s parking lot, but then it speeds off into the distance. Huh, at least for now he can relax. Though that means he won’t tail Soonyoung and maybe see something interesting. He gets inside and orders a beer.

* * *

His next observations are much more detail oriented, both with Soonyoung’s behaviour, habits and so on, but also the environment itself. He managed to establish that: the older has six bodyguards, and two of them are working in the dance studio; Seo Myungho is in fact Chinese; Soonyoung often has meetings with his father and he’s heavily involved in the management of the company even if it’s not commonly exposed. 

Jihoon is very careful with every outing so no one catches on, but he saw Soonyoung look at him several times a little too long for someone that doesn’t know him. That makes him feel kinda ticked off but he always pretended he doesn’t see the looks. He was working on a way to ensure the mission would be a success, but with every bright laugh it was getting harder to not look into  _ why _ he got the mission in the first place. It shouldn’t be his concern why someone wants that specific person out of the question, but it was hard to find a reason for Soonyoung, besides to anger his father. 

He had almost all the things ready to finish the mission, a good plan to get close to Soonyoung, a good topic for their talk, a good way to get them out of bodyguards sight, a good way to get him to the car, a good place to take him too, a good way to kill him and a perfect way to get rid of all the evidence.

He gets ready for the outing, nice outfit, black shirt with few buttons undone, dark blue bomber jacket, tight but not too tight black jeans and casual sneakers from a very common and rather cheap brand. A tad bit of makeup on, hair styled up, a one-day pink dye on them. He almost can’t recognize himself.

The club is stuffy, as always, people already grinding against each other on the floor. He goes to the bar and buys himself a colorful drink and then starts walking around in search of Kwon. He finds him in about five minutes, sitting by one of the tables with few of his friends (and that two bodyguards). Jihoon stands against the wall not far from them and starts observing. Soonyoung seems to catch him and now is throwing short glances in his direction but no one else seems to mind that. Jihoon, as usual, doesn’t let that be seen on his face and just looks around the dance floor, swirling the offending bright drink he hasn’t touched.

Not even two minutes into the observation, a man comes up to him. He’s taller, of course, much much taller, his hair falls into his eyes and he keeps blowing at them to get them out of it. He bends down, and Jihoon immediately wants to smash his head against the wall.

“What a cute little bean! Wanna dance?” His breath smells like alcohol and Jihoon turns his face to the side slightly. He declines and looks to his right uninterested. The man gets closer to him and places one hand right next to his face. He can see his target watching them closely, his eyes becoming two slants with the way he’s trying to burn the man standing before him, just using his gaze. Jihoon feels the man puffing air against his cheek and tries to get smaller. That makes Soonyoung get u aprobutly and heads in their direction, Jihoon tries to hide his smile. Even if it’s going a little bit differently that what he planned. The man doesn’t even has a chance to say anything, when he’s being showed away from Jihoon.

“He clearly doesn’t want to talk with you, so get lost.” The words are spatted at that male and the next second Jihoon is being grabbed by the wrist and led to the table Soonyoung just came from. He panics a little, remembering that Myungho guy, but he doesn’t have a chance before he’s being pushed into wobbly chair. 

“You stay here at least until he goes away.” Jihoon blinks a few times at Soonyoung, bewildered at what just happened. An unnerving silence follows his arrival, so he mutters a quiet ‘thank you’ and lowers his head, trying to get his head back under control. Then he hears a sigh.

“I told you not to grab random people and drag them with you, right?” Jihoon knows it’s that Myungho guy and wonders if something like that happens often. Soonyoung shrugs and takes a sip of his beer. 

“That guy was too much, had to do something.” He looks to the side, slight blush going up his face. Kwon looks at his friends and then at Jihoon, and smiles, and Jihoon find himself unable to gain the control over his body, and blushes. Someone cooes and all the people start to introduce themselves. Jihoon pretends like he cares and makes a lost face, the conversation starts to flow and with some questions here and there, Jihoon even feels included. 

After a few minutes, he excuses himself, saying he doesn’t want to intrude and he should go home already, he gets back to the bar, placing the almost empty glass back and tries to get lost for the eyes of the people sitting by that table. He pushes through a few people dancing and goes to the toilet. He checks his plan again, making last time adjustments, and goes back. He hovers near the stage and waits for Soonyoung to dance. He’s not disappointed when he spots the man in the next minutes, jumping around to the energetic music. It’s not that long before the taller catches his stare and stops, blinking a few times. Jihoon tries to make a flirting face, though he’s sure it’s not really working that well. But it’s still enough for his target to grin and come closer. 

“I thought you went home.” He’s talking closely, almost into his ear, their bodies mere centimeters apart. Jihoon smiles, trying to look innocent and touches Soonyoung’s arm while going up his tiptoes. 

“I wanted to see you for a little bit longer.” He says that in a sweet voice, and immediately tips his head down after finishing. The act seems legit, when Soonyoung laughs into the side of his head, bringing Jihoon closer, their bodies touching almost all the way. “I’m glad.”

They start dancing, Jihoon acting as a shy, flustered virgin, waking up the alpha in Soonyoung. The older starts to kiss down his neck during their third song, and he moans from surprise. The noise making him agitated enough for him to hide his face in the taller chest. Soonyoung laughs and lifts his face with the help of two fingers. He’s just smiling down at Jihoon sweetly, almost with an enormous amount of affection. Jihoon finds his head almost empty, and then they are kissing. It’s messy and deep and full of little gasps, but they are getting more and more lost in it. They separate for a moment when their lungs start to burn, their faces close, noses nudging against each other.

“Wanna go with me?” Jihoon knows he’s a little too forward, but the clouded look in Kwon’s eyes only darkens at his words. Soonyoung seems to still consider it for a moment, and then he kisses Jihoon again, humming against his lips. Jihoon pushes him into the direction of the doors, still kissing him, trying to stay out of the vision of his friends. They go out, still kissing, the colder breeze hitting their bodies, so they clutch at each other for warmth. Jihoon breaks off, breathing hard and discreetly looking around, while Soonyoung nuzzles the side of his face and then starts kissing the column of his neck. Jihoon moans again, not able to bite down the sound.

“Hey, wait. Not here.” He tries to tear Soonyoung’s fingers off of his shirts buttons. The older just nods and kisses him again. Jihoon cuts it short and starts dragging the man to his car. He smiles at his plan going smoothly. He pushes Soonyoung in the passenger seat and buckles his belt, going around the car in a hurried steps. In the corner of his eyes he sees a man getting out of a car, a gun in his hand. Jihoon has enough time to reach for his own before the man points it at him and shout to not move. He does move, opening the door and pointing his own gun in return. He wasn’t really prepared for the man to start shooting just like that. One of the bullets hits his leg, before he has the time to duck into the car. Soonyoung looks at him in question while Jihoon is busy starting the car without even being fully inside. 

Jihoon fires his own gun, hitting the man too, closes the door and steps on the pedals to get them away. More gunshots are heard and Jihoon tells Soonyoung to duck his head. The man does as he’s told and bends in half, making himself invisible from the outside. A bullet breaks the front window and hits Jihoon again, this time close to his heart, both his side and arm hurting. He manages to drive away from the parking lot, but the car soon starts going after them, luckily without any more gunshots. It takes about twenty minutes for Jihoon to lose the car, all that time silence filling up the space. When Jihoon parks before the old house near the suburbs, the first thing he does is get Soonyoung inside the house and lock it. Then, he changes the plates on the car and cleans the broken glass. He then parks the car in the backyard and goes back to Soonyoung.

The male is sitting on a couch, sipping some water, strolling through his phone. He looks up when Jihoon gets inside and cocks his head at him, looking curiously. On the other hand Jihoon wants to kick himself for not thinking of taking the older’s phone as he might use it to contact his people already , but he still strodes to him and takes the phone out of his hands.

“You want my attention that much?” Soonyoung is laughing brightly but after a few heartbeats he goes serious and points at Jihoons leg. “You might want to take care of it first, tho.”

Still holding the other’s phone, he goes to the bathroom and gently takes his jacket and shirt off. The wound is covered in blood that’s still flowing out slightly. It’s more of a cut actually, the bullet only grazing his side, deeply but still cut-like. He gets a towel and wets it, then proceeds to wipe the blood away. When he's satisfied with that wound, he then takes the black jeans off and curses. The blood stained the material almost all the way down, the blood is still flowing out at a fast speed. He started whipping it but the stinging sensation is only getting stronger, while the wound doesn't look any better. The pain shooting up his thigh and spine makes him see white for a moment, the world spins and he gasps, almost losing his footing. 

A warm embrace stops everything, his head calms down but the pain is still there clouding his vision. He feels someone picking him up and he’s floating with just two arms holding him close in that warmth. He groans but still tries to open his eyes to see the culprit, even if he knows who that is.

“You shouldn’t strain yourself for now, Pumpkin.” He mutters the last word with a frown on his face and Soonyoung just laughs brightly. Then his body is being placed on a soft material of the bed and a hand swipes through his gelled hair, messing it a little. “You’re so cute, you know. I have a pikachu plushie at home and it looks just like you! Don’t worry, my Pikachu, I’ll take care of you.”

Jihoon is mad. Kinda. He can’t do anything with it now. The blood loss is making him weak, what just makes him even more mad. He closes his eyes, hand trying to keep the blood from flowing out of the wound. It feels like ages when his hand is being grabbed and placed on his stomach, a cold sensation pressed against his wound.

“Sleep, Kitten. I’ll get you all better.” He knows he's going to die in his sleep tonight, but he doesn’t really care, the weight he carries everyday finally falling, the misery he lives in diminishing into a small flame. The pain so intense. 

And he lets himself black out.

* * *

He wakes up disoriented, the pain swallowing his whole being. He’s warm all over, but especially on his left side. There’s a small weight on his chest but it’s also warmer there. The events of the evening before come crashing at him and he aprobutly opens his eyes. Isn't he dead?

Soonyoung is lying on his left side, cuddled up to him, his face pressed against Jihoon’s shoulder. Soonyoung’s left arm is holding his, close to his chest, while the right one is that weight against his chest. They’re covered by a thick blanket, up to the other’s face. It’s bright outside, even if the rain is splattering against the window. He’s lying in just his boxers, Soonyoung is also shirtless, as far as he can see. He pats his leg and he can feel a material wrapped around where the wound is. He tries to get up and Soonyoung stirs. The older blinks a few times and looks at him with hazy eyes. 

“Pumpkin, where you going?” Jihoon looks at the other bewildered. What is he thinking?

“You should stay in bed, I’ll make something to eat. I saw some things around yesterday. Wanna have some ramen, Cutie Pie?” He stands up, covering Jihoon better and smiling softly at him. He can only blink, not really understanding the whole situation. Kwon just laughs quietly and ruffles his hair. “Try resting more, Cub.”

Soonyoung goes out the room and he can hear a commotion in the kitchen. He tries to get the situation under control, at least in his head, going through what just happened a few times. Soonyoung’s behaviour is so strange he can’t place it anywhere near the commonly known principles. Maybe he just wants Jihoon to be caught, so he’s buying time for his bodyguards right now? Or maybe he’s a sadist and he wants to torture him slowly? Or maybe just plain stupid?

Jihoon slowly sits up and pick us his phone lying on the bedside table. He calls Wonwoo.

“You’re already finished?” It’s what Wonwoo asks right after he picks up. Jihoon massages his face for three seconds and answers him.

“No. I need something though.” His friend hums, telling him to continue. “Can you call that guy who repairs cars’ windows? I need the front one.”

“Why? What happened? Did you crash your car?!” He can hear Jun on the other side gasping and asking what happened to him.

“No. I just… I fucked up a little and one of the bodyguards shoot me, breaking my window in the process. I need to get it fast.” He hears footsteps coming closer to him but he doesn’t look up at Soonyoung. The man sits down on the bed, just right beside his injured leg and just stare at him.

“What about Soonyoung?” The said man tilts his head in curiosity. Jihoon knows he heard Wonwoo say his name.

“I can’t move around a dead body right now.” He says that, looking Soonyoung straight into his eyes, but the other doesn’t even move at his words. “It needs to wait.”

“Alright, I’ll contact the man. You’re where I think you are?” 

“Yeah. Bring us food.” At the mention of food, Soonyoung’s eyes widens and he shoots up and power walks to the kitchen. The calls ends and Jihoon sighs, throws the phone on the bed and slowly stands up. The pain makes him close his eyes tightly and grip the bedside table like a lifeline. After a while he manages to make a few steps and closes the bathroom’s door. The first thing that catches his attention is a bunch of blood stained tissues on the counter and a bullet lying just next to them. He sits down on the toilet and unwraps the bandage around his leg. The wound isn’t big and it’s cleaned very well, even as Jihoon wills all of his power and opens it a little to look inside it. 

“Kitten?” He hears it outside of the bathroom and stills. His breathing is loud enough, he’s sure the other can hear him through the door. There’s a knock. “Kitten, you there?”

The door opens and Soonyoung’s head peaks in. Upon seeing him and the state he is right now, the taller gasps and gets inside. His wound is bleeding a little again and he involuntary trembles.

“Oh, Bunny, I told you to rest, right?” There’s a concern in his voice and Jihoon yet again is bewildered at what’s going on. Soonyoung kneels before him and reaches for a tissue and a disinfectant. He cleans the wound and covers it with a clean, slightly damp material and wraps the bandage again. He smiles at Jihoon and pats his head. “There. All better, right, Kitten?”

He gets up and pulls Jihoon up too. That’s when Ji finally breaks out of his strange state and pushes the other away, looking at him in wonder. 

“Are you not grasping the situation you’re in? You were kidnapped! And what with those stupid nicknames?!” He turns around and leans on the counter. Soonyoung hums behind him and suddenly he can feel arms wrapping around his middle, lips latching onto his neck.

“You didn’t introduce yourself, Sweetheart.” Jihoon’s heart jumps a little at that soft words whispered into his skin, but he ignores this as he always does. “And you didn’t took my phone away, or hidden yours, or the keys. It looks more like you kidnapping me just to fuck me senseless. Wasn’t that the deal?”

Soonyoung starts kissing his neck and nipping at his ear, and Jihoon almost chokes at how good it feels. He can’t comprehend how it’s all escalating, and in a completely wrong direction. 

“I was sent to kill you.” 

“And you are killing me right now.” Soonyoung is looking him in the eyes through the mirror, smirk making his face more dangerous than Jihoon has ever seen, and he did spend a lot of time watching that face. They stare at each other like that, Jihoon’s back pressed against hard chest, arms keeping his close.

Suddenly Soonyoung’s eyes widens, and Jihoon finds it hilarious. He wants to laugh, but Soonyoung lets go of him and starts frantically looking around.

“Oh no, there are no tissues anymore!” He gets out of the bathroom. Jihoon sighs and slowly goes to the bedroom. He sits down on the bed and looks around. He sees the others phone and checks it but it’s powered off. He frowns a little but the next moment Soonyoung is back with some gauze in his hands.

“I have to take care of my little Turtle. Show me your side now, please.”

* * *

It’s the second morning he wakes up feeling this warm. He remembers he told Soonyoung to stay in the bedroom and he himself went to the living room and laid down on the sofa. Now he’s lying halfway on top of the other man, who has his arms loosely wrapped around him. There’s someone knocking on the front doors, the rhythm familiar. He gets up slowly, not waking Soonyoung, and proceeds to get the keys and open the door. Wonwoo walks in with Jun following, grocery bag in his hand. 

“We already changed the window, Jihoonie. Wonwoo also repaired the bumps in your car.” Jun smiles at him and pokes his cheek, before walking into the kitchen.

“Jihoonie?” That’s when Jihoon groans, and slowly walks into the kitchen, without another look at Soonyoung. The other man follows him anyway and looks at the two new people. Jun is at his side by an instant, his violet long hair (Jihoon thinks he looks ridiculous, but at least they thought about changing their looks a little, the light blue lenses looks good on him) covering half of his face, and Soonyoung pick a strand. 

“Oh my god, he’s really cute!” Wonwoo looks at them with a disgusted face. 

“There’s some medical stuff here.” Jihoon says his thanks, and just like that they’re gone. The silence follows, Jihoon pretending he’s interested in the food they brought and Soonyoung observing him closely.

“So… Jihoonie.” The older receives a sharp look and laughs at it, coming closer to the smaller male and ruffling his hair. He that grimaces. “You have to wash that off, I like you better in black hair.”

Jihoon pauses and looks at Soonyoung questioningly, shock evident on his face. Soonyoung smiles and starts placing the grocery in the cupboard, as they didn’t turn on the fridge. Jihoon mutters a quiet ‘how’, and Soonyoung starts laughing. He turns to Jihoon, his face still bright with the tender smile, eyes sparkling. 

“How could I not realize a cutie like you is following me, Apple? And not to mention a certain Kitten holding a stranger in a club that one time. I could never forget how your body fit perfectly against mine in a back hug.” Soonyoung winks and goes back to putting away the grocery. 

Jihoon’s face turns bright red.

* * *

The day continues, Soonyoung wraps his wounds in new bandages, keeps calling him by this stupid cute names. He showered, the pink dye from his hair going down the drain. Soonyoung is jumping around him like a loyal puppy, ‘Sweetheart, do you want some water?’, ‘Babe, I made lunch!’, ‘Bunny, stop moving, I have to wrap it around you.’ and so on. Jihoon thinks he might go insane. Every nickname makes his heart beat like crazy, or skip a few beats, and Jihoon doesn’t know what’s worse. Probably both. He blushes when Soonyoung comes closer or touches him, especially that one time the older was wrapping the bandage on his leg. He wanted to do it himself, he’s not an idiot, but Soonyoung insisted. So he was sitting on the bed, Kwon kneeling in front of him, face serious. The wound is high enough for Jihoon to just blush because the other is touching him so close to his.. you know. But Soonyoung decided it would be funny to tease him, his hands going a little higher than expected, caresing softly. After Jihoon’s choked up gasp, he got his face closer to the inside of his thigh and kisses him there, looking up at Jihoon. He was pushed away immediately, but Jihoon could feel his face almost catching on fire. 

It’s around 9pm, they are sitting next to each other on the bed. Both are reading books. Soonyoung lowers his head somewhere along the way to Jihoon’s shoulder, just resting against him, and he’s too tired to fight that stubborn man, so he lets him. After some time Jihoon sees two cars coming towards the house. It’s one of the last on that road, and there’s only one way the road goes. He watches them closely, the lights getting brighter.

“They found us.” Soonyoung doesn’t move, still resting against him, but his words makes Jihoon tense up. He’s doomed. He went all wrong for this mission and he want to blame it on his tiredness, weighing him down for at least four months now. Soonyoung sits up and looks at him. “You’re not gonna run?”

Jihoon looks back tiredly and sighs. He closes his eyes and keeps silent. Soonyoung wraps his arms around him and nuzzles his hair. He pulls him up then and takes him by the hand to the living room. He makes Jihoon wear his jacket and gives him the car keys. Jihoon doesn’t resist but he also doesn’t see the sense in all these things. Soonyoung disappears in the bedroom for a moment and Jihoon hears someone outside the front door. At least two people discussing something in whispers. Soonyoung reappears and shows Jihoon a small paper. He then shoves it into Jihoon’s pocket.

“We’ll do it like that. There are five or six people. They came by two cars, so I go for five. The window in the bedroom faces the backyard. You’ll go there and climb out of it, while I will open the door and make them all come in, alright? You can drive off and call me in two or three days.”

Jihoon looks at him shocked. Soonyoung just smiles down sweetly at kisses his temple. When their eyes meet again, Jihoon can see a fire in his eyes that makes the desire to live in him light up too. He wants to ask if it’ll work but his question is swallowed by Soonyoung’s lips. The kiss lasts for a few moments and when they part Soonyoung places his forehead against Jihoon’s. 

“Don’t worry, it’ll be alright.” He lets go of Jihoon and pushes him slightly in the direction of the bedroom. “Oh! And I think I know who wants me dead, Jihoonie. I’ll tell you when we meet up. See you, Sweetheart.” He doesn’t wait for Jihoon to answer and turns to the door. After an initial shock, Jihoon turns around too and go to the other room, leaving the door ajar. He can hear Soonyoung opening the door, four different voices greeting him, Soonyoung ushering them inside. He gets out by the window and jumps. The pain shooting up his leg, but he pushes himself to walk faster to the car.

The moment he moves he can see the lights being turn on in the bedroom. But strangely, there’s no car following him home. He gets there safe and sound, after three hours of driving around the city. Inside his kitchen, he pulls out the paper Soonyoung pushed into his pocket. There’s a phone number scribed in a messy handwriting, and a smiley face accompanied with a heart and a short note.

_ Don’t let me wait long, Pumpkin! _

* * *

*A district in Seoul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt: "jihoon was sent to kill soonyoung to weaken the power of his family, but due to the crazy amount of bodyguards protecting soonyoung, jihoon only managed to capture soonyoug before escaping with said boy, but was hurt as a result. soonyoung knows how to defend himself so he isn’t too worried about jihoon killing him and had instead, taken a liking to the assassin. he naively nurse jihoon back to health and call him cute pet names, flirting with a irritated jihoon. to his horror, jihoon finds him endearing no matter how many times he tell himself that soonyoung isn’t. and when the bodyguards managed to track them down and surround them, soonyoung had stopped them all from attacking and capturing jihoon, and instead, pressed a quick kiss on jihoon and gave him a slip of his phone no, allowing him to slip away. jihoon is left dazed and confused but his heart is pounding with excitement."
> 
> I didn't do the " confused Ji but with heart pounding with excitement"!!!! Well~  
I hope you all like this story! It's a little longer than the first one.  
I will beta it a tomorrow! I'm sorry!
> 
> As some of you might have seen on the twitter (#snhnayr), the next story would be by Yle! The title, same as the prompt, is based on two Maroon 5 songs. "But now... Afraid" I suck at making titles.
> 
> You can still send in your prompts here: https://forms.gle/7cLcADFxFsZG1cVZ6


	4. But now.. (ft. Sooncheol)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entry #3 submitted by Yle
> 
> Angst (because Yle is the Queen of angst)
> 
> Word count: 5308

This prompt is based on two songs performed by Moaroon 5 [Beautiful Goodbye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JyqPUB21mI) and [How](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_BlwZzMeio) and I recommend you to open them while reading. They're beautiful!!!

Enjoy!!

* * *

I want him to love me. I want him to come to me, with gentle eyes and a bright smile on his face. I want him to hug me tight and never let go. I want him to call me those stupid pet names that would always melt my heart. I want to get soft for him. I want to hold his hand and proudly say he’s mine. I want to go with him on various dates. I want to laugh at his lame jokes. I want to show him my love. I want him to love me again.

_ He  _ is Kwon Soonyoung. We know each other since we were fifteen. We went to the same high school, and then the same college. We were close since the very start, I bumped into him on our second day of school. My family just moved from Busan and I had no friends. And no idea of where I was going. He helped me find my classroom and for the first week he was always waving at me when he saw me. I was a loner. I didn’t approach anyone and was very closed off. And then, during lunch one day, I was sitting completely alone again. Suddenly someone poked my cheek and sat down beside me. From then on, Soonyoung was always near me. We grew close pretty fast, and I gained more than just a best friend.

I always wanted to become an actor. When I was little, my mom signed me up for a theatre club in my school. I was imitating the actors from dramas at home, so she thought that would be good for me. It was, and it made me even more motivated to get into art school and play as someone else. Soonyoung was always supporting me and even started to be interested in it himself. He was saying that he loved watching me act, and that’s it. He wanted to watch me, so he went for directing.

We were staying in the same dorm room, but had different schedules. It was alright for a few weeks, but I missed spending time with him. We both met new people but I didn’t care that much about them. Soonyoung did, he was always a social butterfly, so even when we had less lectures, he would go out with  _ the friends  _ and leave me alone again. I tried not to be too clingy, I was known to them as the awkward friend of Soonyoung’s, so I didn’t want to make it even worse. But one time, I managed to convince Soonyoung into a movie night, just us, and some take out, or a poorly heated up frozen pizza. He promised me to get back to the dorms around 6pm, with some beers and chips.

He texted me, maybe an hour earlier, that he’ll have to stay up a little bit. I messaged him back, that it’s okay, and that he can get back home without stopping for the shop, as I would go and buy the beers. He agreed and said he’ll be there for an hour more. 

But when it was 8:30pm and no Soonyoung in sight, or even a message from him, I opened the first beer and started the movie, a very popular comedy. I remember I cried somewhere during it, probably the alcohol and the feeling of betrayal doing their jobs. Soons came around 10pm, a little drunk, laughing and clinging to one of his new friends. I didn’t even look up from the movie, and it seemed they didn’t care. The friend laid down in Soon’s bed. He looked slightly too pale, but I was mad I wouldn’t even move a finger if he was dying before my eyes. Soonyoung got him some water and placed the glass on the nightstand. Then he looked at me and smile apologetically. He sat down next to me.

“Jihoonie, I’m..”

“Good you’re back. I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.” I closed my laptop, placed it with the half empty beer on the nightstand and laid down, covering myself to the top of my head. I heard Soonyoung sigh and mutter an apology, one I wasn’t interested in back then. But he stayed on my bed, gently patting my hip and part of my left thigh. I was curled up in a ball, my heart and head covered in the strong feeling of betrayal, of being left alone, and to add that it was by the only person I never thought would do that. 

I always had problems with sleeping after drinking. I woke up maybe three hours later, disorientated, but warm, too warm even. When I took off the covers from my face, the first thing I could see was Soonyoung sitting on my bed, far away, at the end of it. His head was hanging low and his left hand was still being placed on my leg. After a moment of watching I realized he was asleep. The guilt ate me up and I quickly maneuvered him, so he was lying between me and the wall. I covered him up and caressed his head, smoothing down the frown on his face and patting down the untamed hair.

I woke up in the morning in the same position, with the exception of Soonyoung’s arm wrapped around me. I left them there and went to my lectures, head pounding and heart broken. We didn’t talk for almost two weeks.

For those two weeks, every evening I was always laying in my bed, facing the wall, sometimes crying to myself. It was a very hard time, being alone made me sad and unable to focus on my studying, intrusive thoughts clouding my mind. Each morning it was harder to get up, each day getting darker. Soonyoung was sitting on his bed, me silently crying, trying not to move too much. Suddenly he got up, and then I felt his body colliding with mine, his arms reaching for my face.

“I can’t watch you crying like that, Jihoonie.” He said that. And got his face close to mine, I thought he would kiss me, oh how I wanted him to kiss me. He did, but on my cheek, where the tears were rolling down. He kissed away my tears and, ironically, it made me cry even more. But I could hug him then, hide my face in his chest and listen to the way his heart was beating. I didn’t mind crying. We got back to how we used to be before college, always close, doing things together. But there was something unsaid left between us, something more.

It was near Christmas, when the lights were already illuminating the streets and people were singing everywhere, when it changed. We got the new flavour of coffee, a special Winter one, and were cuddling under the blanket while watching some anime. Outside the snow was falling, creating a beautiful but cold aura. For some time already we’re more touchy, leaning in closer, hugging even more often than before. It wasn’t much, but the hope I had inside me was growing fast. That day made it bloom the prettiest colors the world has to offer.

Soonyoung had his arm around my shoulder, I was snuggled close to him, savouring the warmth and the way the nicest ever smell was enveloping me completely. The episode finished and his hold on me tightened. I looked up and he was smiling at me softly motioning me to sit up. He took my hands in his and stared deeply into my eyes.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about.” Then, he got shy, looked down and started playing with my fingers. I was smiling slightly as I always thought it’s cute how Soonyoung could go from confident tiger to small clingy kitten in a second. I reached with one hand to his squishy cheek and made him look at me. He laughed quietly, and I don’t know what possessed me at that moment but I leaned closer to him and kissed him. It was short and uneventful, he didn’t even reciprocate it, I got shy almost immediately and moved away, dropping his hand and apologizing furiously for being so reckless.

“I like you too, you dumb-dumb.”

That line changed our lives so much. We started slow, going on a few dates before deciding it’s alright and we can be together for real. We really enjoyed the idea of showing off the other as ours. Of course, we still spent a lot of time together, watching anime, studying, going to parties, even cooking. We both sucked at cooking but it was bonding time so we were doing it a lot. We also enjoyed eating something different than instant noodles or eggs with toasts once in a while, even if it was too salty or not salty enough.

Our love was blooming for the rest of uni. I even wanted to propose to him during our graduation, but somehow I didn’t. I still regret that, cursing myself everyday for not doing it. Maybe that way we would be happy until now?

The industry is very demanding, strict and unforgiving. I had to go to many auditions, before they started picking me up for tiny roles. I started as part of the crowd, then went through some small cameos, having less than a minute of the final screen time. Soonyoung was very happy for me every time I got something accomplished. But the world wasn’t so generous for him. He was looking around for more than a year, almost two years in fact, before they picked him to help in production for a short drama. I was extremely happy for him that time, his dreams were finally coming true.

That drama was a success, but they didn’t want to work with Soonyoung for the next one, a better one, longer with a larger budget. Soons had to look around again. That made him sad and I tried to be there for him. But that’s also the time when my big breakthrough happened. 

Some successful director contacted me himself. He was looking for a fresh face for a horror movie, a male built just like me. In the beginning, it was the thing we were both so excited about. Soonyoung got his determination back, telling me that one day he’ll be the successful director contacting me.

“I hope you’ll accept my offer. I know you’ll be one of the best actors by then!”

But it soon become a matter of the fall out of our relationship. I got the main male role, and was spending a lot of time on the set. Sometimes I wasn’t even going back home, opting for sleeping in a nearby hotel. I was tired all the time. We weren’t spending together almost any time at all. I even got to know he was accepted for another drama project only after a week of them filming. I got back home and he wasn’t there. I didn’t pay it much attention as I knew he was often going to our friend’s Wonwoo’s flat. Soonyoung was closer to Wonwoo than I was, as they knew each other even before Soons and I met. But when he wasn’t home by lunch the next day (my day off), I started to worry. He wasn’t picking up the phone and was not answering my messages. He got back around 4 or 5 pm, obviously tired. His phone died and he was too busy to even notice that before he was going home. 

I felt stupid then. Because I was his boyfriend, and in fact, I knew close to nothing about him that time. I tried really hard to be home more often after this. The filming of my movie was at the finishing state with a month to spare, so I could bargain more often about letting us go a little earlier. That helped a lot, the time together healed both of our hearts. But I knew Soons wasn’t that open with me anymore.

After the filming finished, I thought we would have even more time to spend, to love each other. But the movie blew up and I got several offers, one better than the other. Soonyoung was so excited for it, pointing out that some of them were long term, a series of movies. That made me wonder… Did he want me gone for most of the days? Was he hiding something?

I accepted one of the offers and started working again. He also got another work offer. We went back to not spending time together. The only moments were when we were sleeping. I remember that it started around September and one week we probably didn’t even talk at all. Of course there were several messages, but no face-to-face contact at all. A few days before my birthday, the director suddenly told me to go home after lunch. I was confused but also tired, so I agreed. I was so sure Soonyoung would be on the set of the movie he was co-directing, that when I got back and saw him sipping on a coffee and watching news in the living room, I almost cried.

I was close to just pouncing on him and hugging the living daylights out of him when he greeted me with that precious smile I feel in love with, he came closer and I couldn’t stop myself anymore. The hug was long but so so warm and comforting.

“I’ll make you some coffee, Hoonie.” 

I got out of my jacket and shoes, and before I stepped inside the kitchen, all of my friends came running out of other rooms, screaming ‘happy birthday’, Soons came out with a cake with lighted candles. And that’s when I cried.

Later, Soons said that he would need to fly to China for the next week and that’s why he wouldn’t be able to make the surprise party on my birthday. He even asked my director to let me go back earlier for it to work. I think I fell in love in him all over at that moment. But the good things always end, that’s what my mother kept repeating when I was young.

I was so busy I couldn’t spend Christmas with Soons. I realized two days late that we had our five years anniversary. I bought a gift for Soon hoping that my slip up could be redoed. When I got back four days after the anniversary, I told him I didn’t want to simply send a message and was unable to call him. He bought it and gave me his present. I promised myself I wouldn’t forget about anything like that again. 

But I did. I did forget about another important date. Every year we were celebrating our first time. Well, that might be strange, but it was very precious to us. That time we were very unsure about the whole concept of us dating. Best friends turning lovers, that was a movie plot for us. Only a movie plot. We couldn’t really believe that it’ll turn out alright. We knew each other so well before, that it was extremely awkward for us to go beyond kissing. And it took a lot of time to actually do it. 

I came home one day, tired after all the jumping I had to do that day for one specific scene. I just wanted to take a warm bath and go to sleep. Soonyoung was already in bed, reading something, sometimes writing notes here and there. I greeted him but didn’t get an answer. Thinking Soon was too absorbed in his work, I slipped under the covers, made sure to place my left hand against him to feel some of his warmth, and closed my eyes.

It wasn’t even a minute when I heard rustling and the papers being set on the bedside table. I opened one eye and looked at my love, but Soonyoung was glaring at me. I was clueless for a moment.

“Something happened?” I asked while sitting up. Soonyoung had his arms crossed and looked very angry. He was silent for a while and then huffed suddenly, glaring at me even harder.

“Do you know what date was three days ago?”

I shook my head a little and answered him: “ It was 4th of April, what do you mean So-”

That was when I realized just  _ what _ date it was. My eyes got wide and I wanted to apologize. I did apologize for being absent-minded, but Soonyoung just started shouting at me. It was our first serious fight. We both lost it that day, yelling at each other and blaming the other for everything. Soonyoung spent the night at Wonwoo’s, and I was crying alone in our bed, too big and empty for just me. I called in sick the next day, hoping that Soonyoung would come back and we’d hug, kiss and say sorry, and everything would be alright again. But he didn’t come back, call, message or answer me either. We made up three days later, but that first fight initiated a spiral of events leading us only further apart.

Soonyoung became cautious when we were together, sometimes even flinching when I touched him. I really wanted to make it better, to fix the situation and save what little trust Soonyoung had. But our fights were getting more frequent and more draining. It wasn’t normal anymore, that ‘healthy’ way of living, when arguing meant we still cared. I know we did care about the other, maybe even too much at that point. We cared so much we didn’t see, couldn’t see that what we were polishing so tenderly was only the surface of a broken glass that was poorly repaired. We didn’t really talk about our arguments. We had one, gave each other a cold shoulder for a day or two, and went back to eating breakfast together.

There was awfully lot of lack of communication between us. I was scared then. I was so afraid that talking about our problems would only make you turn away from me. I know I made a lot of mistakes, and I was so scared of admitting that I was the one in the wrong. Even then, I was aware you placed me on some sort of a pedestal, I didn’t want to fail you. But by not talking, I only failed you more. 

I always prepared for your birthdays. I never liked to celebrate them, but with you it was different. You were different. Important. I loved to shower you with love. But the situation was tense, I didn’t even realize the time was going so fast. I was on the set, of course I was. That time, I almost lived on sets to give you as much space as I thought you needed. During the lunch break I was scrolling through my phone, when a movie friend asked when I have some free time to go for a drink. I saw the date and almost immediately called you. You were happy that day. I got off earlier, bought a present, a small cake so we could share, and went straight home. It was Thursday, so you said the outing with our friends would be during the weekend. That of course meant a night only for us.

I think it was the last happy day in our relationship. I knew you were upset a little, I always greeted you a happy birthday as soon as the clock struck midnight, so a twelve hour delay was something strange. But nevertheless we had a good time, just like when we were still in college. It was also the last time I woke up with you cuddled up to me, still sleeping peacefully. And the last time you greeted me with a smile after waking up.

The peace was kept for a week maybe? Maybe not even that much. We went back to arguing, at first the small ones that didn’t end with shouts and tears. But as the time went on, it became even worse than before. We never hurt each other physically, but I’m sure I hurt you mentally more than you did to me. I was the one not coming back home, or going back drunk, I was the one always mad at everything when home, I was the one who didn’t want to meet with our friends.

It was the start of September when the unbelievable happened. We just finished filming for a drama where I played a detective. You had your own movie in the making, first project you were really in charge for. I was so happy for you, but that also meant you were working long hours. We didn’t really have time or, well, all the things you need for a healthy and satisfactory sex life. I went with the crew to the bar for a few drinks. But I got drunk pretty fast, my tired body didn’t do well with alcohol that time.

I can’t really remember it that well, but I do remember someone kneeling before me, my jeans and briefs down. We didn’t went further, I immediately felt ashamed of myself and dirty, so dirty I couldn’t even think of going back home to you. I ended up in Wonwoo’s flat, crying. I didn’t say why I was crying but I know Wonwoo told you everything that happened. I remember telling him I was so mad at myself and resigned, that I love you so much and don’t know how to fix us. Or at least I think I said that. 

Three days later you came home fuming. You came straight to me and slapped me. Then you started crying and yelling at me, how I was going around cheating on you.

“Our relationship is shit right now, but I thought you had some dignity left.” Was what you said. It turned out, the one who blew me was part of your crew. Somewhere along I started crying too, screaming that I don’t really know if you’re not cheating on me too, as you didn’t want to have sex for more than two months. I know you’d never do that, but I did fear it, that you’d decide one day I’m not even needed for you to fuck, and you’d drop me completely. 

Somehow we laid in the same bed that night. The silence between us was too deafening for me to fall asleep. I watched you quietly cry yourself to sleep, and did nothing. When I was sure you were off to dreamland, I kissed the path your tears made on your skin. I delicately held your head and cried myself.

I remembered then how your eyes were shining brightly when we were younger and happy in love. How for a very long time you were hiding your pain, and that day it streamed down your pretty face. How I hoped you’d never hold such negative feelings inside you, that you’d let them go, because keeping them won’t make anything better, neither would it turn back time. I tried to do just that for so long I lost the now we had. I lost you. I knew that we fell apart, all because of me. I knew you’d end that miserable excuse of a relationship soon.

When I was looking down at you, all I could think of was that even when you had tear marks running down your face, you were still the most beautiful in my eyes. Never in my life felt I more hatred toward myself than I did then. Watching a single tear fall down from the eyes than once were full of life. I kissed it away, kissed you goodnight. Or maybe even goodbye.

The next day you coldly said we should break up and that you’re gonna stay with Wonwoo for the next few days. I silently let you pack some of your things and go out. I couldn’t even fight for you then. Four days after that I went back home to find it empty. Literally. Everything you owned was removed, leaving a hollow space. Only then did I realize how present you were in everything I called my reality. Only then I saw how I was nothing without you. 

You left a note. That you hope we’d meet one day with better mindsets and clear hearts.

I stayed in an empty bed in an empty bedroom of an empty house. Because I could never again call it my home.

Years passed, my career bloomed. I’ve become very famous, gotten few prizes for my acting, moved to a different part of the city, one can say I started a new life. But there were times I would sit on my balcony and drink wine, while remembering the times you’d hug me, kiss me, push the furniture up to the walls and ask me to dance with you. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be nowhere.

You got successful too, directed two very famous movies with one of the best actors out there. But you were mostly concentrated on making dramas, especially those with a very strong romance part. I watched them all, loved them too. But I never got a request to be a part of it. Probably because it was a well known fact I wasn’t accepting anything with heavy romance. People were questioning why I was so opposed to it, some were speculating I hate love itself. Well, maybe I do. I can’t really bring myself to act all lovey-dovey with someone that’s not Soonyoung.

I have a reputation of that stoneheart cold bastard. Always alone, never saw on a date, or even a more friendly meeting. I have a few friends, Jeonghan for example, nation’s Angel. We were co-stars in a film named  _ Surge _ , we were sailor lost on the seas and trying to save each other after our ship shattered. Or Seungkwan and his boyfriend Vernon. I met Kwan on a set of a historical drama, I was a second male lead, and he was playing as my character’s best friend. We spent a lot of time together and grew close.

I was trying to always have something to do. Never really had a good, long vacation. Too much time was making me think too much too, reminiscent and regret. That’s why I had project after project, sometimes even two at one time. And there were always new scripts to read through and decide if I want to act in it or not. 

Four months ago I came across an excellent script that I had to agree to it almost immediately. I got the lead role and I couldn’t get more happy about it. Until the first day of shooting. I went to the set half an hour early. I was really excited to work on it. When I was getting out of my car I saw him. My heart clenched painfully but I also felt like I could breathe again after so so long. 

Soonyoung was also leaving his car in all glory of early rays of the sun. I clumsily locked my car and wanted to run to him, all the longing filling me completely and making me almost lose my mind. But when I looked back at him, another man was holding his hand. A man I knew. Choi Seungcheol. He was one of the directors of the drama I did around a year before that. I told myself I should tone down my excitement to not look like a helpless puppy but before I took the first step, they started kissing. I think my whole world shattered again. I didn’t went to them. I went to the toilet and started crying. It took me almost twenty minutes to get it under control, but my eyes reminded reddish and puffy.

These two and a half month were crazy. At first I was crestfallen. I didn’t know what to do, how to act around them, around Soonyoung to be exact. He welcomed me with a hug and a sweet ‘ _ Jihoon-ah, I haven’t seen you in such a long time. You haven’t changed. _ ’ He was not only civil but also friendly towards me, greeting me everyday, talking to me not only about the drama and acting but also mundane things, our lives and so on.

That's how I got to know that he and Seungcheol are together. For a long time actually. When I was working with the older, they had their first anniversary. Soonyoung said they were thinking about marriage even. That shook me so hard. At first I couldn’t function properly. We talked about marriage too. A year into our relationship you mentioned one day if I ever wanted to have a family. I said that one day we could adopt a small kido, and you added that first we’d need a beautiful wedding. From that day we often talked about what theme we’d have for the ceremony, what the cake would taste like, every time we’d buy a cake we’d talk about if it’s good enough, pretty enough for the wedding. 

I wanted that. That was supposed to be mine. I know I was unreasonable but I wanted him to love me again. The love never dies, right? So I thought I can make him come back to me. I asked him out to catch up, went out of my way to interact with him, intentionally made mistakes so he’d talk to me and show me how he wants it. But nothing worked. He was still kissing Seungcheol at the end of the day, still politely greeting me, and nothing more. He didn’t want to talk about what once connected us.

I still tried to do everything to have as much time as I could with Soonyoung, but the lack of response made me think just how much did I hurt him back then? How much must he suffered to not love me anymore, even after such a long story between us? I’d do everything to have him back and loving me again. But how can I? When he already has someone who won’t take him for granted, who loves him dearly and takes care of him. Unlike me, an ugly past he probably wants to forget about.

I think that right now it doesn’t really matter. He’ll be happy with Seungcheol. He’ll have the wedding he dreamt of, the family he longed for. I hope he’ll be always well and the stars would look after him for the rest of his life. Those last two weeks were awful, I was wondering for so long if I should leave him to be happy or fight for my own happiness. But I understood, his happiness is the most important for me. And he has it now.

So I decided to leave the scene, found a job outside of Korea. Half a year would do me good. Too bad, the fate had a different idea for me. I boarded the plane to USA this morning. Wanted to think about the love of my life for the last time before finally letting him go for good. Looking around the plane right now, I think I’m the only calm one, watching as the lonely island is getting closer, as well as the ocean. I’m happy I had to have Kwon Soonyoung in my life, the most amazing person walking on the earth. I wonder if he’d feel sad after he’ll hear about this incident and my death. I don’t really swim well, so even with much luck, I’m still going to sink down. I hope I’ll faint or something, drowning is one of my worst fears. 

I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt: "It's more or less based on two Maroon 5 songs. The first one is called "Beautiful Goodbye" and the second one "How".  
Basically, Soonyoung and Jihoon were in love with each other since they were in high school but didn't get together till they got into university. Jihoon studied to become an actor and since Soonyoung loved the way Jihoon acted (he looked at Ji fondly whenever he did that), he decided to become a director in hopes to work with Jihoon, to see him transforming into a new person with every new movie. However, when uni finishes, it's like their love kind of fades too. Jihoon is always busy with auditions and small parts while Soonyoung can't really get a job but Soonyoung's okay with that. He's happy that Jihoon is getting recognised for his talent. But Jihoon slowly starts letting Soonyoung down: he forgets dates, anniversaries, birthdays and things like that to the point that Soonyoung can't take it anymore. Here starts the reference to "Beautiful Goodbye" with Jihoon sleeping next to Soonyoung after a big fight and realising the times he let him down and remembering the first time they met. The next day, Soonyoung breaks up with him and leaves, still wishing him to meet him again someday. 
> 
> Years pass and Jihoon has become the nation's most famous actor and every director tries to cast him wanting to make their movie or drama be the next biggest hit, however, Jihoon only accepts works with real plots and without romance (no one understands why he refuses to do romance). One day, he reads the script for a drama and he likes it so much that he accepts the role without even reading with whom he will work with. That's why when, on the first day of shooting, he's shocked when he sees that the director is Soonyoung, whom too has become pretty famous in the field. When he sees him, Jihoon almost runs to him because of how much he had missed him but he sees that Soonyoung has another man next to him, Seungcheol, the co-director. As days goes by on the set, Jihoon comes to know that Sooncheol have been together for a couple of years now and they were already thinking about marriage. The news shakes Jihoon to the point that he sets his goal to make Soonyoung fall in love with him again. Soonyoung seems to be unaffected by Jihoon's moves and this sends the latter in a kind of spiral of thoughts about how much he must've hurt Soonyoung if he got to the point where he doesn't love him anymore even after being in love with each other for years, even when he still loves him (Here comes the second song, "How"). Jihoon doesn't know if he has to give up or not. "
> 
> I'd like to apologize to everyone for leaving this with a month of silence. I have a very bad time rn and it's really hard to motivate myself to write, even when I have head full of ideas. I'll try harder!
> 
> I... had realised that the title I thought of back then didn't really suit the story after I wrote it so it changed a little.
> 
> On twitter I already choose the next story (#snhnayr )! It'll be an entry made by Amy! 
> 
> You can still send in your prompts here: https://forms.gle/7cLcADFxFsZG1cVZ6


	5. You are enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entry #10 by Amy
> 
> Light angst 
> 
> Word count: 9327

The world was strange, in his opinion. For the first several years of people’s lives everyone are equal. It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl, or a boy, if your parents are a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, or a man and a man. The only differences might be how much money your parents have, as some of the kids from wealthier families think it’s right to make the others know they have a better start than them.

But then, when you’re around fourteen years old, you go through  _ the Shift _ , as they call it, and suddenly you're an alpha, a beta or an omega. And it doesn’t matter if you’re the best in sports in your class, if you’re an omega, you can’t join any competition, because as an omega you’re weak. It doesn’t matter you don’t know how to lead others, they say you’re the strongest alpha in your class and you have to be the class president. 

The first thing didn’t happen to him, but the second did. Jihoon found himself being the most important person in his class during the last year of secondary school. He was cursing at his father, of course inside his mind and with no real bite, for making him work at his company during the summer break, which probably made his alphaness or whatever it was, stronger. He had no idea how to make people listen to him, he was quiet and didn’t really like talking that much. But as the class president he had to. He was against taking such a position, half of the other alphas in the class agreeing with him, but the teacher was like: “ _ You’re the strongest alpha here, I can feel it, you’re getting the position and there’s no talking about that. _ ”

He had to monitor the hallways and other students, making sure they behave and not cause issues or engage in the ones already created. He had to stay in school longer to fill some boring papers about the whereabouts of his fellow classmates and other students he reprimanded that day. And the alphas from his class weren’t making it easier for him. There was at least one problem concerning them everyday. He couldn’t miss even one day because later he had to stay for about an hour or two more.

Not even two weeks into this, he found himself finally understanding what was so amazing about being an alpha. The last classes just ended and people were happily leaving the school grounds. The day was sunny and warm, making everyone eager to spend it outside. Jihoon decided to take a longer route to the headmaster office where he had to collect the papers to fill out. Almost everyone was already gone, so he was surprised there were two alphas standing near the pine trees of their school’s garden. They were obviously talking with someone smaller, but he couldn’t see that person. Yet he decided to come closer and see what’s going on. From few meters away he could smell a fear of an omega.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” The two alphas looked at him and upon recognizing him said it was nothing and run off. The omega had tears in his eyes, some already streaming down his cheeks. Bouncy round cheeks, if Jihoon had to be specific. He was crouching down clearly scared, looking at him with round alarmed eyes. He tried to make his scent more relaxed like they showed him in his alpha classes, so the omega would be able to calm down. It must have worked because after a while the other’s breath evened as well as the sharp suffocating smell of something burning disappeared. Jihoon crouched then too, and look all over the omega, looking for bruises.

“They are bullying you?” The omega looked down, a strong blush creeping onto his cheeks and ears. He didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to, Jihoon already knew it was true. “I’m Jihoon. If they’ll try to mess with you again, come and..”

“Please, don’t tell anyone.” The omega interrupted him with a quiet voice. He was still looking down, his hands trembling, a few tears falling down again. “They’ll beat me up if I’ll tell someone.”

Jihoon took a deep breath in, and then slowly let it out. It was obvious for him the omega was a prey for those alphas. It was a very usual occurrence. A small group of alphas choosing one omega, most preferably a loner, or somebody new in the environment, as long as they don’t have many friends. That omega becomes then a prey, someone they torment and threaten enough so they won’t tell anyone about it. And why are they doing that? Simple, to feel better about themselves. Jihoon thinks it’s bullshit and they just feel like they lack, and want to bully someone weaker. That would at least explain why are they doing it in groups. Even an omega, one on one, can still win against an alpha. But two alphas are too much.

“Why are they even targeting you?” But the omega was shaking his head, muttering, pleading him even, to not tell anyone about what he saw.

“I won’t. I promise. I don’t know any of you, so I can’t really report it. And I accidentally came across this, so you did nothing wrong, right? So will you tell me why they are bullying you?”

The omega pondered it for a moment and then nodded. Jihoon motioned him to go with him and sit on a nearby bench. The omega looked around but there was no one close to them, so after a few deep breaths in and out, he started talking quietly.

“I don’t have many friends. I got kicked out from the taekwondo team. The two are also from the team, and since I got yelled at for still coming there, even if I’m an omega, they are now making fun of me. Saying I’m too weak, and that I’m ugly and my eyes are strange.” There was a lot of hesitation in his words, but what made Jihoon almost cry was the sorrow the omega was emitting. He was trembling again, lonely tears filling his eyes, the burnt smell returning. Everything inside Jihoon was screaming to help this omega, to gather him close and never let anyone harm him again. He started releasing calming scent while patting the other’s arm lightly.

“I think you have very pretty eyes.” He wasn’t proud of his lack of eloquence that moment, but it must have worked, because the omega looked at him and smiled slightly, a scent of freshly cut grass enveloped Jihoon and pulled him in, closer to the other. The omega let himself be hugged, nuzzling into Jihoon’s neck.

“Ekhem. Mr. Lee? I suppose you should be in the headmaster’s office right now?” The voice made them separate in the speed of light. Both become flustered upon seeing the math teacher looking at them disapprovingly, blush creeped up on their faces. Jihoon stood up and bowed a little, apologized and looked once more at the omega, before quickly making his way to the office. 

He was a little mad the teacher interrupted their moment, but on the other hand he felt giddy. He was sure he never smelled something more appealing than the scent that omega emitted. Even the real freshly cut grass wasn’t so .. fresh, so rich, so comforting.

Unfortunately, he didn’t meet the omega again until their graduation. He saw him standing there, in the middle of the crowd, with a soft smile on his face. He was too far away to smell him, but he was sure a fresh scent was surrounding him. Like the arm of the alpha standing close to him. Jihoon cursed his luck then, but he could do nothing about it. He had to move on.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Soonyoung always hated the world he was born into. Both his parents were betas, what was very rare. There were mostly alphas and omegas. Betas were said to be a lesser type, tho some were claiming that after mating with either of the other types, they changed from a beta to an alpha or omega. He couldn’t really believe that. Like what, you date an alpha and after mating, you magically become an omega? Bullshit, right? Besides, most betas were mating with other betas, no one really knew why it was like that though. 

He also thought he’d be a beta. He was really bright and sweet, what was claimed to be an “omega behavior”. But when he needed to, he was also strong, and aggressive even, an “alpha behavior”. So he was kinda shocked when the blood results came in with a big OMEGA in the right corner. He didn’t thought about that much. His body didn’t change, his mind didn’t change. His doctor said it was probably because he was a late bloomer, so they repeated the blood tests, but the result was the same.

He was going with his life just the same way he did before. His favourite occupation of his free time was the taekwondo team. Every Tuesdays and Wednesdays he was spending two hours training. The other days he was learning on his own. He was really passionate about it. So when his teacher found out he’s an omega and told him to stop coming, he was devastated. He still went a few times, just to spite everyone, showing things he learned on his own to show he was still suitable to continue training. But the teacher was getting madder every time he saw him, and once started shouting at him for being a bad omega that doesn’t listen to alphas, telling him such omegas are ending up left alone because no alpha wants to deal with stuck up brats. 

Soonyoung hated the scent that attacked him then, full of hatred and disgust. He never went back there. It also got him a lot of other problems, precisely the three alphas from the team constantly attacking him. He didn’t know why they were so persistent on bothering him, but he presumed the reason was he was always beating them during the classes. It also sucked because they were coming up to him at least two at the time, so he couldn’t really fight back, because as far as he knew he’s good, two alphas knowing taekwondo were more dangerous than one omega knowing it.

At first they were just making fun of that day he got scolded. But then they started saying he’s ugly, that his eyes are weirdly shaped, or too small, not appealing to an alpha. And after a while, the last thing started hurting the most. His parents were very supporting about who he wants to date, but he knew they wanted him to find an alpha. The thought of failing his parents’ expectations was painful. But for himself too, being alone was awful and realizing he might not find himself a mate was terrifying. 

Wonwoo, his best friend, an alpha, was always repeating that if Soonyoung won’t find anyone then that would mean they are fated to mate with each other. Well, he might have had a small crush on Wonwoo, but that was before they went through _ the Shift  _ and before they established their friendship. Also, he wouldn’t take away from Won the chance to mate with the one he wants the most, just because he’s ugly and unappealing, or some other shit. 

That’s why when that Jihoon guy appeared, he thought he might have a chance at getting himself the truly  _ his _ alpha. The scent of warm lemon water still lingering in his memory, fuzzing up his brain. But Jihoon had many friends, too many. Soonyoung was always shy, it was a miracle he even talked with the alpha that day, more so acted so shamelessly and scenting him slightly. He really wanted to talk with him again, but Jihoon’s friends were loud, really loud. Wonwoo was sometimes complaining he was loud too, but not to the extent Seungkwan or Seokmin were, or at least Soonyoung thought that were their names.

So he was only observing the alpha from afar. 

* * *

  
  


Living in a small city was both easy and hard. You knew many people but also a lot of people knew you. You had a lot of places to go to, but not as many as there would be in the bigger cities. There was a nicer environment but less opportunities. Most of the students going to the high school of course deciding to attend the one in their city. Jihoon didn’t have any problems with getting into the high school, considering he always genuinely liked learning new things, so his marks were very good. But the lack of change in the faces of others was a little bit disappointing.

He still remembered the alpha that was standing near the captivating omega, an arm keeping him close, safe. Jihoon wanted to be the one to do it. But he knew that if the omega was safe and happy, he had no place to show his face to him. Even if that omega showed him how it feels to be needed, he had to find another. This might be laughable, how hung he was on that omega he didn’t even know the name of. He couldn’t really explain it himself. Everytime he smelled the scent of cut grass his head was moving around, searching for him, only to be disappointed. He couldn’t understand why he didn’t meet him besides that one time during graduation. They were studying in the same place, they were in the same year, and their classes were working on some projects together. And he never got a glance of his face. Sometimes the scent, yeah. But never the face.

High school was time consuming. He again got the class president position, thank god the teachers treated them more like adults, so he had only a weekly meetings with their superior and not any patrols or similar stuff. It took some time to adjust to the increased amount of work their teachers expected from the students, but by the November he was already used to it. 

He was still sometimes getting a whiff of that amazing scent, but as always, he never saw the omega. He even started to think he’s imagining the fragrance.

To get his mind off of it, he decided to join the school’s sports club. There were three different teams, a female volleyball one, taekwondo one, and baseball one. He was thinking of learning the martial art but his good friend, Seungcheol convinced him to join their baseball team. So he did. And enjoyed it very much. He also met there his very first beta friend - Junhui. Jun was like their school flower boy, a prince even. He was tall, overly handsome, and when Jihoon said  _ overly _ he freaking mean it! Because when he was standing next to Jun he felt like an ugly potato.

Jun brought to his life the other Chinese guy, Minghao, a very strong minded omega. When Jun was strange and loud, Minghao was calm and slick. He greatly enjoyed showing people how stupid they are. But he also liked deep conversations and his parents' wine collection. 

“It’s good for your heart, you know. Of course I drink only a little bit, a glass of wine twice a week. You should try it too.” And as far as Minghao was right (Jihoon checked, don’t even think he didn’t), he’d rather wait with the alcohol. But Minghao wasn’t so exciting as an omega for Jihoon, no one actually was.

It happened after one of their trainings. Seungcheol, Jun and Jihoon were leaving together to go to the bus stop. They have stayed overtime to help their teacher with some cleaning, so they were more tired than normal, but also very happy. The campus of their school was huge and had a lot of buildings, so when they heard a pained shout, it took some time to find the source. Three people were beating up someone. 

“Yah! What are you doing?!” Seungcheol had the voice of someone you’d immediately listen to, so the alphas, yes all three of them were alphas, stopped abusing the person and looked at them. The beaten up person was curled in a ball against the wall, but the scent told them that was an omega. Seungcheol’s older sister was also bullied in school, so the sight made him really angry, Jihoon swear he could see the aggression sipping out of him. The tree alphas started running away, leaving them with the poor omega, who uncurled himself slightly, so his face was visible.

“Pretty eyes!” Jihoon rushed to his side, instantly holding his face, wet with tears. The omega was very cold to touch, his jacket ripped into pieces lying uselessly next to him. The winter still wasn’t there but the wind was very icy and strong, making everyone seek the warmth of their coats. The omega was sitting in a thin t-shirt in the cold, who knows for how long, Jihoon knew he has to get him warm immediately.

“What did you call me?” The omega’s voice was small, strained, and shocked, but still as velvety as he remembered. All he could do in that moment was to look at the omega, who’s scent was making all the red flags in his mind appear, all the alarms turning him feral, he could feel himself falling into the urge to kill those bastards, but he also knew he had to take care of the omega first. It was Seungcheol’s voice that got him back to earth.

“Here, you must be cold.” He was holding out his coat so the omega could take it. An animalistic growl escaped Jihoon and a low ‘ _ no _ ’ made both his friend and the omega freeze. He quickly got off his own coat, covering the omega with it, telling him to get his arms inside and zip it up, then he looked up at his friend apologetically. Seungcheol was watching him closely and Jihoon knew they would have a long talk later.

“Soonyoung?” Everyone looked at Jun, that suddenly kneeled in front of the omega. Jihoon wanted to growl again but he managed to suppress it, as Jun was also emitting a very agitated scent.

“Why are they bothering you again?”

The omega, Soonyoung, just lowered his head and sniffed, tears again forming in his eyes. Jun told them then, they have to get Soonyoung to Minghao’s and his shared flat (they were studying in Korea, but both their parents were staying in China). Jihoon helped Soonyoung get up and supported his body all the way to Jun’s place, asking every few moments if he was alright, if anything hurted more or if he needed something. Somewhere deep inside he was happy he found the omega, but the circumstances made him ask heavens why Soonyoung had to go through it all.

Minghao was fuming, right after they made sure none of the bruises were bleeding and weren’t risky to leave without doctor’s attendance. Jun prepared ramyun for everyone, and after Soonyoung came back in clean clothes (Hao’s because Jun was concerned of Jihoon’s previous reaction to the idea of Seungcheol’s, another alpha’s, scent on Soonyoung) they started eating. Soonyoung revealed then the alphas were bothering him because he beat up one of them earlier.

“Dude, I remember that as if it was yesterday! The poor guy started hitting on him and were really persistent. He must have really wanted to get into your pants, Soon. But can you guys imagine, when he cornered our Soon, he got the beating of his life. I wanted to go help Soon when I saw he couldn’t get the man off of him with just words, you know, I also trained martial arts, but damn I just enjoyed the show! That’s how we met, by the way.”

Jihoon really wanted to talk to him. But the way he reacted earlier made him shy. Everytime Soonyoung looked at him, he felt himself blush a little, his eyes avoiding the other's immediately. His own reaction earlier really concerned him, even if he knew that he liked the omega. It was scary to think he might go feral just because of the other. 

His nerves didn't let him speak with Soonyoung the whole evening, not until they were almost leaving. When Seungcheol said it's time they'd leave home, Jihoon started panicking, just a little tiny bit. Well, the last time he didn't make sure to see the omega again, he disappeared from his sight for a whole year. Soonyoung already called his mom to tell her he's staying over at Jun's and Minghao's flat, as he didn't want his parents to worry about his dirty clothes. He said, they'd know instantly he got into a fight. When Seungcheol was crouching to wear his shoes and the Chinese duo kinda left him and Soonyoung behind, he decided he can't wait anymore. 

"I think it'll be wise to stay for a while with us. No one would try to bother you when we'd be around?" The sentence ended as a question and he didn't even know why. He also couldn't look up into the omega's eyes, and instead he focused them somewhere near Soonyoung's collarbone, where a small cut was visible. The omega smiled at him, which he saw in the corner of his vision, and brought his hand up to rub the other side of his neck. 

"I don't really… Thank you, but I enjoy being on my own more." That made Jihoon look up at the other, concern written on his face. Soonyoung smiled even brighter at him and took a hold of one of his hands, causing a shiver to go through his whole body. 

"Really, Jihoon, thank you. But… My parents are betas and they exist in their own world. Me, as an omega, ummm… I don't belong there, never belonged anywhere in fact." 

The last part was almost whispered, and a slightly bitter scent of rooted apples reached Jihoon. The omega was playing with his fingers, eyes looking down on their joined hands. The urge to make the other happy overwhelmed Jihoon, making him forget there were other people in the room. Said people were silently observing the pair with curious gazes, as they never before experienced Jihoon being so affected by an omega. 

"You belong with us." The moment the words left his mouth, Jihoon wanted to throw himself out the window. Soonyoung looked at him, but he was already turning to get the fuck out of there the fastest he could. Of course, his friends were standing in his way, with a different types of surprise on their faces. Minghao had that embarrassed surprise look on him, they probably matched that moment, or so Jihoon thought. Seungcheol wore a disbelieving type of surprise, like he'd just saw a ghost. And Jun.. Jun was probably the most infuriating person ever, in Ji's opinion. He was grinning at them, glancing at their still joined hands. 

"Oh, don't worry, Hoonie! We'll make sure that Soonyoungie spends his time with our group from now on." 

"Don't call me that." 

Jihoon swears he passionately hates Jun. 

  
  


* * *

True to his words, Jun made sure Soonyoung was spending every free minute with their group. At first he was just following them, not speaking much, just being next to them, not really  _ in _ the group. But Jihoon almost desperately tried to make him feel welcomed, walking with him at the back, sitting next to him, attempting to engage him in small talks. Slowly, Soonyoung become more open with them, started smiling at stupid things Jun did, or freely talking with Minghao about some techniques of fighting, or just some omega things. Jeonghan, Seungcheol’s boyfriend was usually joining them, acting as a mother to both, advising and guiding, even if he didn’t know all that much more than those two. They also met with Wonwoo, Soonyoung's best friend and kind of a protector, the same man Jihoon saw during the graduation. 

There still were some incidents of alphas coming up to Soonyoung when he was alone, or following him home, thought with the second case Jihoon took it as his personal goal to always make sure Soonyoung was safe on his way home. He also urged the omega to join the taekwondo team, as they had both alpha and omega groups. Slowly, very slowly they were growing close. 

Soonyoung really liked Jeonghan, as well as Joshua, his cousin visiting him every weekend. Joshua was also an omega, and a cocky one at that. Soonyoung was wondering which one of them was more cunning. Both of them helped him a lot, not only with accepting himself, but also understanding his feelings and controlling them.

“You know Jihoon likes you a lot, right? It’s easier to lure an alpha that likes you.” Soonyoung was looking with a scandalous expression at Jeonghan, Joshua laughing at them on the side. 

“Don’t tell him such things! Hahaha, but right. What’s with you and Jihoon? He’s hard to catch.” Jeonghan was looking amusingly as Soonyoung looked down at his fingers gripping the ears of a white bunny the oldest got as a birthday gift from his boyfriend. The three of them were currently in Jeonghan’s room, just spending time together. It turned out he was living quite close to the other omega, one day he was taking a stroll with Joshua and they met, making Soonyoung hang out with them for a while. 

“There’s nothing between us. We are friends, I guess.” He himself didn’t really know what it was that held them together so easily and strongly. At first he thought it was just a sentiment from that day the alpha kind of saved him. But the more time they spent together, the more pulled into the feeling Soonyoung felt. Then again, he didn't know if it was because he really liked Jihoon that way or simply because, besides Wonwoo he was the first one who helped him. Of course he knew Jihoon liked him, he'd be blind if he didn't see it. The alpha made it very clear he was concerned  _ and _ interested. But again, it wasn't for Soonyoung to ask him out, right? 

"If you want, Soonie. There's no rule who should ask the other out. And yes, you were saying that aloud." He smiled sheepishly at Jeonghan and sighed. 

"Let's wait a little longer. I want to sort out myself first." 

* * *

Summer came and with it came the break. For some time already their group was discussing about spending some time together, out of the city. 

"We're going camping!" It was Mingyu shouting excitedly and running around like a puppy he is. He was the newest addition to their group, if by newest you can consider someone you know for four months. Surprisingly he was an omega, an annoying one if you'll ask Jihoon, but he wasn't that bad. His scent was sometimes overbearing to him, but it seemed Wonwoo was falling into its trap pretty often. He'd laugh at how easy the other alpha was manipulated by Mingyu, but he knew he wasn't any better with Soonyoung. 

Speaking of Soonyoung. Their friendship was blooming. They were spending a lot of time together, were comfortable with each other to the extent they were having sleepovers sometimes. Jihoon's parents weren't so bad, giving them enough space. He was sure it was because they were convinced those times were his and Soonyoung's type of courting phrase, and Jihoon couldn't really disagree. But with the omega's parents it wasn't like that. Even though Soonyoung was often repeating how kind and good to him he was, the betas saw Jihoon as some sort of a beast, a predator wanting to taint and consume their precious child. They were checking on them every half an hour or so. Once when Soonyoung was tired, Jihoon offered his body to act as a pillow, and the older was more than happy to cuddle and take a short nap. But upon opening the door to Soon's room, his mother started yelling at them, made it almost look like Jihoon raped the omega. And when Jihoon started to defend them, his father was close to slapping him. Soonyoung was so stressed about it he cried, and while Jihoon wanted to calm him down, his parents of course started panicking over nothing again. Jihoon had to apologize to Soon and went home. The omega was in an awful state the next day and Jihoon didn't go to the practice in favor of treating Soonyoung to ice creams and afternoon cuddles in his room. He got to know Soonyoung’s parents were kinda strange, as they wanted their son to find himself a nice alpha, but were acting feral when they saw him in particular. 

Jihoon was also very excited for the outing. Soonyoung’s parents agreed to let him go, thanks to Jeonghan, who promised to take care of the younger. He didn’t even know what he was so giddy about, to be honest. It’s not like he’d scent Soonyoung, or something, because he’d do that even with the beta parents in the same room, if only Soonyoung asked. He did wish for their friendship to maybe change a little bit. Seungcheol was bugging him too often of when would he man up and ask the omega out. But he felt Soonyoung wasn’t quite ready yet.

“Ji-ah, you’ll come pick me up?” Soonyoung took a hold of one of his hands, with both of his, and squeezed once. He was looking at Jihoon with so much something he couldn’t read, but nonetheless loved observing in the olders eyes. He smiled at Soonyoung and squeezed back, but shook his head gently.

“Jeonghannie-hyung would pick you up, alright? I have to run an errand before we go.” Soonyoung made an ‘ohh’ sound with slightly crestfallen expression but nodded his head in understanding.

“Then, you have to make it up to me!” The omega instantly brightened when he agreed and hugged him, emitting a very strong wave of that amazing scent of his. If he wasn’t held by Soonyoung, Jihoon thinks he’d sway hard enough to fall. 

* * *

The journey was long and uncomfortable. The only good aspect of it was that he was leaning against Jihoon, the alpha's arm securitly thrown over Soonyoung's shoulders. And Wonwoo right in front of him, all awkward because of Mingyu sitting right next to him. It was a very entertaining thing to see his best friend being so stiff around the handsome omega, tying so hard to make himself the most presentable and proper when Mingyu was around. And even more enjoyable was how happy of every interaction the younger was. 

It was a little bit like with him and Jihoon. But totally different at the same time. He was even more open with the alpha for the last few weeks, trying to communicate he's ready for a relationship. But Jihoon is still unsure, he can feel it. Not unsure of his own feelings but of Soonyoung's. And he can't blame him, really. He should be happy that his alpha is giving him so much space and understanding. And he was. 

The day was really long, their train departed at 11:30 am and after four hours they reached their destined village. Half an hour walk took them to the camping grounds next to a beautiful river. They pitched their tents and he managed to have Jihoon share the tent with him as the payback for not picking him up earlier. Wonwoo was sharing with Mingyu, Jeonghan of course had one with Seungcheol, Chinese duo was also sleeping together, and Jisoo agreed to share the tent with Seungcheol's cousin - Sunshine Seokmin. Seungkwan and Hansol were already there when they arrived. 

After a forest hunt for some logs, first swimming session and a few strolls around the grounds, they were finally sitting around the fireplace, the warm flicks of fire were crackling in the space between them. He was again leaning against Jihoon, his head comfortably placed on the other's chest, the alpha's hand running through his hair. His own hand was resting on the inside of Jihoon's thigh, above his knee, sometimes drawing circles there. There were some words here and there but they were mostly silent, just enjoying the presence of the other. 

Seokmin, who was sitting next to Seungcheol on their left, was observing them closely. Soonyoung could see the way he was nudging his cousin and pointing at them while mumbling something. Cheol laughed and told him to ask that himself, Seokmin blushed and looked at them again. 

"Ummm… Sorry to bother you but.. Are you two really not together? Like a pair? Because.. Ummm.." 

He only smiled at the way the younger was stuttering, eyes casted down. But Jihoon laughed out loud hard enough, Soonyoung had to sit up a little bit to avoid his head being thrown up and down. If it was even possible, Seokmin blushed harder, almost squirming in his sit. He could see the way the younger was ready to disappear, so he decided to speak up. 

"No, we're not." Jihoon pulled him back to his chest, only a big smile left on his face. 

"Not yet." The alpha said it quietly but everyone seemed to hear him. Soonyoung blushed furiously, hiding his face with one of his hands and relaxed against Jihoon even more. The rest were stunned for a moment, but then they went back to previous conversations with big smiles on their faces. 

The ' _ not yet _ ' ended quite soon, as later the same night Jihoon held out his hand to him and asked for a walk. The sky was full of stars, something you can't see in the city even as small as theirs. The moon was already setting, a light orange hue coloring it. Jihoon was fidgeting slightly, playing with his fingers, obviously nervous, what only made Soonyoung nervous too. 

"What is it, Jihoonie?" He made the alpha stop and face him, running his hands up and down Jihoon's arms. The other sighed and catched his hands in his, looking into his star-like-eyes. 

"Soonyoung. I-.. I know you might not be ready yet, and I can totally understand that!" The way he looked down to their hands and was thinking through every word that was leaving his mouth, was so precious in Soonyoung's eyes. He knew where Jihoon was going, and he couldn't stop himself for being excited, even though he still wanted to tease him a little bit and let him voice all his thoughts. 

"I was thinking about it a lot, actually. You are very important to me and I would absolutely  _ love  _ to always make you happy and comfortable, I think that I'm rambling. Ughh.." 

Soonyoung giggled quietly, as Jihoon was trying to collect his thoughts. He started swaying their arms right and left, while smiling sheepishly, wanting to make the alpha relax at least a tad bit. 

"I like you, Soonyoung. I like you a lot. And I would like to be the person that can call you as mine. What do you say?" Soonyoung didn’t need to have omega senses to see how tense his alpha was. Even his breathing was faster than normally. He was still looking down, too afraid of any sign of rejection. Soonyoung pulled at his hands to get him closer, at what the alpha looked at him.

“I’d like that very much, Jihoonie.” His smile was bright and his pheromones were strong, swirling through the air, pulling at Jihoon and making him even happier. They were standing there for a moment, just staring deep into each other’s eyes, and then Jihoon surged forward and hugged him close, kissing the side of his head. Soonyoung took a ragged breath in, and hid his face in the alphas neck, whispering so the other wouldn’t hear him an ‘ _ I love you _ ’.

* * *

  
  


Their friends were ecstatic when they shared the news. Jihoon’s parents also congratulated them and were supportive in general. Jihoon thinks that it didn’t went so bad with Soon’s parents, as they only threatened him, and made sure there are no more sleepovers for some time. The omega was often apologizing for their behaviour, but in Jihoon’s eyes that was something he’s sure he would do too. 

Their relationship was sweet and only getting stronger. They were going out on dates, hugging, kissing, holding hands, just like every couple out there. After a few weeks Soonyoung requested scenting sometimes. But Jihoon first did only after their first year anniversary (and for three and a half month Soonyoung was glaring at him every time their make out session was ended because the omega started the scenting process, and Jihoon thought it was still too early). But when he finally did, Soonyoung was so blessed out, he was unable to produce any other sound than his high pitched whimpering.

They also had a silent rule of not talking about their heats and ruts. It was easier that way, though Jihoon still felt restless every time Soonyoung was having his heat, even while being far far away from the omega. His alpha nature was always screaming at him to go and help his omega, and when he was refusing he felt so useless he was getting depressed until Soonyoung was back and assured him that he spent his heat thinking of Jihoon and his token was a huge help. 

Jihoon didn’t really have any problems with his ruts, they were mostly regular, usually thrice a year. He did think of Soonyoung during them, he’s not gonna lie. But it was all nice, just the way the omega would take care of him during that state, or him taking their make out sessions a little further, sometimes more that a little, but nothing he’d deem as problematic for their relationship outside his stupid ruts. Well, he thought so.

* * *

  
  


The time was moving forward, and without even realizing they were already in their last year of high school. This summer Soonyoung wasn’t able to go with them on the vacation, as his parents were absolutely against their already legal omega to go out of their sight with his alpha boyfriend. Jihoon said it was alright, as they trusted them enough to not have sex underage, when they easily could have. Jihoon went with the rest only for the weekend, but Soonyoung still felt lonely. He knew it was overreacting a bit, but he couldn’t blame himself, he missed his alpha. Jihoon also made it up to him, as they spent the whole week going out on dates and cuddling. Jihoon’s parents took them to a short one day trip to a nearby lake, too. 

The last year in high school was stressful. Every teacher wanted them to excel in their subject, attend additional courses, Soonyoung also had a big taekwondo competition coming. His heats went out of control due the amount of weight that was put onto him. Not to mention Jihoon was as busy as him, so they couldn’t really spend as much time together as they’d like to. It was tiring him even more and he was feeling so needy all of the sudden, even omitting the rules of no sleepovers his parents made. Once he got out from his room after 11pm through the window, and sprinted to Jihoon’s house, begging the alpha’s parents to not call his, and slipping into Jihoon’s bed to cuddle with him. The next morning was probably the most embarrassing one in his life, because Jihoon’s father was grinning at him like a madman, after telling them he did call the betas in the morning to say that he was so eager to come to their house in the morning he forgot his phone. And when he got back home he was scolded to never get out of the house without his phone ever again. He was silently thanking Jihoon’s dad for the lie but was immediately reminded of that crazy smile he was given, and cursed his luck.

It was in December. He couldn’t really predict when his next heat will come, as the previous one was almost three weeks earlier, and the doctor said the next one could be faster too, or just like it should be previously, or even late. It wasn’t something unheard of that omegas were going into heat while being at school, but he always made sure to stay at home that day. Besides, the aura they were getting before the real heat starts was long enough to react and go home.

Soonyoung was eating lunch with the rest of the group, sitting next to Jihoon with his head lying on the alpha’s shoulder, as he could feel it pounding inside, like his brain was threatening to jump out of his skull. Suddenly, he felt hot, the headache got worse and Jihoon’s pheromones started invading his senses even stronger than normally. 

“Is your heat starting, baby?” Jihoon must have feel it too. His scent probably went all overboard, so of course his alpha would know. The only thing he could think of that moment was a quiet whine, at what Jihoon kissed his forehead and asked Jeonghan to sit with him for a while, himself going somewhere. He got back in maybe five minutes, and said he told their teachers he’d be taking Soonyoung home. With that they bid farewell and went home. Strangely, the aura he got was passing very fast, and before they got to his home, the heat was already messing up his head. The walk from bus stop to the house he spent on Jihoon’s back, nuzzling into his neck, because, hell the alpha’s scent was so comforting and heavenly, and so, so hot. He could smell the change in his alpha, the desire rising in him, making the normally a little sour scent almost sickeningly sweet. Soonyoung knew he was getting all hot and bothered because of it, but he couldn’t stop scenting his alpha and linking their scent glands, so Jihoon’s pheromones would stick to him too. He remembered how his father came to them and got him off of Jihoon’s back, how he started escaping his hold, back to Jihoon, how he was clinging to his alpha, begging him not to go. How his precious Jihoon put his own hoodie on him and kissed his temple, and then he was gone. And Soonyoung wanted to cry, but the calming scent was all around him and he just fell asleep.

His heat ended fast, only three days of cuddling Jihoon’s hoodie, scenting himself with it, trying to satisfy his hunger, stronger than before, of the way his alpha would pleasure him. He was back to school the next week (as his heat finished on Saturday), but something wasn’t right. He could smell Jihoon went through rut, the characteristic whiff of something spicy was still present. The problem was, Jihoon was always clinging to him after his rut, but that time, he hugged him only once, and then kept a bit of distance between them at all cost. He didn’t pay it that much attention at first, because he could sense the alpha was tense, that something was troubling him, and he patiently waited for the other to open up to him. 

But it didn’t happen. 

The situation only got worse, as during the Christmas break Jihoon was claiming he was very busy and couldn’t meet with him. Two weeks of not seeing his boyfriend made Soonyoung a little bit depressed. He felt like he was going back to the shy, lonely boy from before. Also, Wonwoo was busy with his new relationship with Mingyu, and Soonyoung didn’t want to take the sweet moments from him, only to drop his dark thoughts at him. He hoped that after the break they’d spend some more time, at least in school, if Jihoon was really that busy, but again, he was wrong. The alpha was obviously avoiding him.

“Soonie, are you alright?” It was Jeonghan, who first saw his foul mood. Joshua was sitting next to him, rubbing his back soothingly. Soonyoung couldn’t voice his thoughts, as he was sure he’d start crying, so he just shook his head, and leaned closer to Shua, who hugged him tightly. After a while they finally coaxed him into saying it, and then cuddled him on Jeonghan’s bed. 

Soonyoung told himself, he’ll wait until the exam session ends, and then he’ll see how it goes. Maybe he was just paranoid and Jihoon really was so busy with everything? That thought let him go through his own exams quite well. But due to his heat, he couldn’t participate in the taekwondo competition, which made him really upset. But he spent the heat mostly crying. He didn’t have any token, nothing that held his alpha’s scent, and his omega head made him think he was abandoned, what only worsen all the pain and loneliness. It took him eight days to finally be ready to go back to living. If he wasn’t still emotional, he’d be back one day earlier, but after seeing only one message from Jihoon asking to text him back when it’s over, he started crying all over again, the feeling of isolation weighing him down.

Jihoon did look worried when he got back with puffy eyes. He tried to care for Soonyoung for the next week. But there was still something unsaid between them. It was like they were standing only a few steps away from each other, but in the middle there was a deep gulf preventing them from going forward in fear of falling down. Also, the fact Jihoon had his rut again was so bothering to him he was closing himself even further. Jihoon usually got his ruts either very regularly or it was triggered by his heat. But it wasn’t the time for the alpha’s rut, nor he smelled his pheromones. It was bugging him so greatly he even started thinking Jihoon found himself a better omega. He missed three days of school, feeling sick, disappointed, sad and resigned. His heart was falling apart at the thought that he failed as an omega, and as a boyfriend. Especially, when Jihoon distanced himself again. He could smell the sadness on him, sometimes, when it so happened Jihoon was dragged to the cafeteria to eat with them. But there was no words between them, no smiles, nothing.

Even his parents asked him why “that alpha boy” wasn’t coming anymore, but Soonyoung thinks that after bawling his eyes right in front of them they got the memo something's not right in their relationship. They even let him stay at home for few more days, calling the doctor so he’d come and check on him. 

During the nights the stars were visible, he’d wear something warm and go outside to sit on the bench in front of their house, and just stare at the little blinking lights, thinking how some of them are most probably dead already, but they were too far away and the light was still traveling. In a way, it was a graveyard. Like his heart. But at least, looking up he didn’t feel so alone.

* * *

“What are you doing?! Soonyoung is breaking apart and you’re just watching him?! What is wrong with you? Aren’t you an alpha? Aren’t your insides twisting when he smells so devastated and-”

“IT DOES, OKAY!? It does.” Jihoon cut off Seungcheol, with tears in his eyes. They were quiet for a moment, the ragged breaths the younger was taking in, filling the air. It wasn’t the first time Seungcheol tried to talk to him about that matter. No. But he was so embarrassed about the reason for his behavior he always tried to omit the topic. It was killing him inside, looking at Soonyoung and immediately knowing he cried himself to sleep again. He was always a step away from his omega, when suddenly he was feeling scared and was backing out. He was scared Soonyoung hated him, scared he’d tell him he’s worthless and he doesn’t want him anymore. He hurt the omega so much, and for what? Because he was a coward.

“I just.. I can’t go up to him and tell him.”

“Tell him what?” There was no answer to it. Jihoon didn’t even know what he’d tell Soonyoung. Maybe that was so terrifying? 

“I didn’t want to mingle, and told the others to not do it either. But Jeonghan told me how Soonyoung feels about it.” That was something that caught his interest. He knew his boyfriend look up to Jeonghan and in fact he was dying to know how Soonyoung was doing. Satisfied that Jihoon was paying him attention he continued.

“Jihoon, he thinks he failed as your lover, and that you found someone new.” He almost choked with how sharply he took the breath in. It was nothing even close to this.

“Oh my, that’s not it!”

“Then what is? Jihoon, you certainly started avoiding Soonie. He must went through hell when he didn’t get any token from you for his heat.” Jihoon was shaking his head, tears falling down. He was the worst alpha ever.

“I’m so stupid.”

“Well, at least you know.”

Silence enveloped them again. Jihoon was trying to calm down, the disappointment in himself was like a venom, spreading through his body, making it ache, but also yearn for Soonyoung’s smile. For Soonyoung. He was debating with himself if he should tell the older alpha what made him act like a heartless bastard, and after a moment he finally looked at him and took a deep breath.

“You remember that day Soonyoung went into heat at school?” Seungcheol nodded, remembering how agitated Jihoon was when he called him to say he dropped the omega at his house but is unable to go back to school.

“Well, he triggered my rut. Nothing to be surprised about but…”

The older smiled sympathetically, trying to show Jihoon he understands how it is when your omega triggers your rut. It did happen to him too. Jihoon was shaking slightly, trying to find the right words to continue.

“I- I actually thought of things I think I shouldn’t have. During it, I mean.”

“Like what?” Jihoon was only shaking his head again, like if he was trying to get rid of the thoughts.

“Wanting to fill your omega is normal Jihoon. Wanting to mate with him, too. It’s not a crime.”

“I thought- I thought worse. I wanted to hear him scream, to- to push so deep, I’d tear him apart. I thought of hurting him, Cheol.” He was crying again, curled into a ball, shaking with every sob leaving him. Seungcheol could only pat his back, hoping that voicing his concerns would lessen the damage.

“I know it’s hard, Jihoonie. Every alpha has this moment, when they’d want to have the omega so much their brain just can’t calm down and provides awful images. But you’re both hurting. Your relationship is in ruins. You have to talk with Soonyoung. You have to tell him.”

* * *

Soonyoung was anxious while going to the nearby park, when Jihoon asked him to meet. Shivers were running all over his body, even if it was rather warm outside. What if Jihoon is going to finally break up with him?

When he got there, he saw a small silhouette in the distance sitting on one of the benches. He cautiously made his way to Jihoon, and with a small ‘ _ hi _ ’ sat down next to him with enough space between them, so even their jackets wouldn’t touch. The alpha looked at him with a pained expression, and Soonyoung had to look away, not able to bear the sight.

“Soonyoungie, I’m sorry.” He was ready to get up and run as fast as he could, when suddenly Jihoon took his hand in both of his. 

“I was neglecting you for so long, I won’t be surprised if you won’t accept my apology.”

He looked back at Jihoon, who was looking at their hands, sadness heavy in his scent. He couldn’t understand what was happening, why was Jihoon apologizing, why he was looking so small, he never looked this small.

“There’s something I need to tell you, and I- it’s awful. How I could even think of something like that. But- I can’t go on like that. I hurt you so much, I-” 

Jihoon stopped there, single tear going down his cheek. Soonyoung took his hand out of his hold and brushed the tear away, caressing alpha’s face. They were already facing each other, their knees bumping. It was almost too much for him. It was more contact than he got in a month and he wanted to cry.

“So tell me.” He was afraid of what he’ll hear. But Jihoon was in front of him, crying, and his scent was desperately reaching out to him, like it was begging him to not let go. He could see how unsure the alpha was, feel his fear.

“Tell me, Jihoonie.”

“During my rut..” Another tear fell from his eye, but he seemed to not care. Jihoon was looking deep into his eyes, breathing loud and shaky. “The one in December.” Another pause, as Jihoon quickly closed his eyes for a moment, just to open them again, with a determination filling him, and the air around them. “I did something ingrate.”

He tried to urge Jihoon to continue by releasing some more of his pheromones, trying to make them calm and comforting, so Jihoon would relax a little bit. It might have worked, as the alpha took one of his hands back into his and moved closer. He looked down too, smiling painfully.

“I feel ashamed of it, to be honest. I was mad at myself at first. Thought you don’t deserve such treatment. I was.. afraid I’d really do it. I still am.” With every word his voice was getting quieter, the determination leaving him, and in its place a bitter tang appearing. He reached for Jihoon’s hair and started combing it, hoping it’ll help.

“I thought about.. about hurting you. I went.. It was like my mind was so.. I was so fixated on the thought I couldn’t have you then, in my mind I pictured you laying under me..”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Jihoonie.” He felt like a big weight was lifted off of his shoulders. His Jihoonie was actually thinking of having sex with him.

“But not like that. Soonyoung, I.. wanted to actually hurt you then.”

“This is why you were so cold?” Hearing it, Jihoon flinched, looking away, tears again slowly falling down. The reaction told Soonyoung everything he needed to know, and he couldn’t stop himself from giggling. Trying to cover it up, because Jihoon looked at him as if he lost his mind, he coughed fakely and put on a stoic face.

“Don’t you know, it’s normal to think of your omega like that when you want to mate? Well, well, I would bet you know about it. I accept your apology.” He cracked a small smile again, unable to hold his amusement in. 

“BUT! I want you to make it up to me. I had a terrible time, you know.”

Jihoon was shaking his head furiously, muttering yesses one after another, interspersing with more apologies. Soonyoung then smiled and hugged his alpha, finally able to breath him in fully. Jihoon held him even closer, burying his face in his omegas neck. They weren’t okay, but they will be.

“I also thought about you biting me hard enough, I’d bleed.”

“Soonyoung!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt: "Soonhoon are in a relationship but Hoshi feels ignored by woozi, as if he lost interest in him. Hoshi is feeling touch deprived. All of the svt members are worried for Hoshi because he seems to become less and less happy each day. They find out about the problem and fix it" 
> 
> YAY! I finally finished this story!!! It was very hard for me, because I'm currently dealing with some stuff and this is the very first abo I have ever written. I think I went a little overboard with the angst for a moment, but I hope you're not crying like snhn and me did!   
A BIG THANK YOU TO 'SLEEPING AT LAST'! Their songs really pushed me through the writing, that's why the story is titled like one of their songs.
> 
> Also, sorry I'm unable to share the next's story title today, because I just finished proofreading (tho I'm sure there's still so many mistakes it's embarassing), and it's going to be based on sth I'm not really familiar with, tho at least I know what it is!! Hahaha, so I need a little more time to think of it. 
> 
> I also thought it'd be nice to change something. I mean, the pool. I'd be doing it from now on only after I finish writing the previous story, so you'd know it won't be long before I update! Also, on my twitter (@teitatoo) I'd be sharing more things from now on, the songs that inspires me for specific stories, some side stories on what I'm writing and so on! You can also check everything under the #snhnayr !! Or write to me..
> 
> As always, you can still send your ideas here: https://forms.gle/pUDvH2CmyTDr7cxz5


	6. Apple Blossom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hurt/Comfort
> 
> The prompt: im just requesting a hurt/comfort fic that focuses on jihoon comforting soonyoung. it can be idol verse or what but im thinking theres a lot of fics about jihoon thinking he's not enough as a producer and soonyoung comforting him but not enough of the other way around so im just really hoping for that. i also think that soonyoung is often portrayed as a strong bright character that i would love to read him as the vulnerable one. it doesnt have to center on just this but i hope there's a good portion of this scene hehe (and id love to hear woozi plan 34567 ways on how to make the people who made soonie doubt himself pay in his head
> 
> The author: Anonymous
> 
> Warnings: if anyone is extremely sensitive (emphasis on extremely) about weight and going on diets then the 4th paragraph might be of slight displeasure 
> 
> Word count: 5168

Step right. Sway left, right. Turn. One. Two. Down, roll to the left. On your knees. Hand up to the left cheek. Soonyoung stopped abruptly, shaking his head angrily. He went to his phone, rewinded the music a bit and went back to the center of the practice room. Step right. Sway left, right. Turn. One, two. Down, roll to the left. On your knees. Hand up in the air. Stand up. He went back, rewinded the music again and looked at himself in the mirror. Then he repeated the exact same steps, just to end up standing with no idea what to do next. Again. He kept staring blankly at his reflection for a while, the music still going forward, while he was just there. Standing still in the same spot. He sighed and ruffled his sweaty hair. He unplugged his phone and reached for the bottle of water. 

“Maybe I just need a walk?” Right, walks were always bringing him some inspiration. He’d use one.

He took a quick shower and wore his comfy clothes. He packed his things and went out. It was already dark, the lanterns lightning up the uninviting murk, making it seem a little bit less threatening. He decided it wasn’t that cold, so he could go back home by foot without freezing off. Halfway, he spotted some children still running around the playground in the park, even though it was way past the time for them to be out. He went closer to them, trying to not look like a creep waiting for one of them to get slightly away, enough to make an opening for him to kidnap them. He sat down on one of the benches, close so he could watch them, but still keeping a safe distance. He smiled remembering the times he and his childhood friends run away late into the evening, so they could play a little longer. How despite the darkness they still tried to see where the trees are. He’d give anything to go back to those carefree days.

He didn’t know how long he was sitting there, spacing out, but when someone on a bike rode just right in front of him, the kids were gone. He shivered, finally feeling the cold. The park was unnaturally quiet, even though he could hear the bustling of Seoul’s streets. His mind was still blank, the few thoughts running around wildly not helping at all. Maybe it really wasn’t his day?

  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ I’m gonna sleep late tonight, _

_ When everyone’s already in bed _

_ My eyes are open, _

_ While my head is both full and empty _

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  


The music ended and the practice room got full of heavy breaths and short shouts of satisfaction and praise. Hyelim clapped her hands to bring the attention of the boys and smiled.

“You did well. I’m proud of you. Now go have your rest so we will be able to work hard tomorrow too!” The boys also thanked her and started packing up with smiles on their faces.

“Soonyoung-ah, can we talk for a while?”

Soonyoung nodded at her, drank the rest of his water, then he patted Chan’s back and told them he’ll be back later. He followed his noona outside of the room as the members were laughing, and both Seokmin and Seungkwan were joking loudly. When the noise was finally less disruptive, they stopped.

“How’s it going?” she asked and leaned her back against the wall. Soonyoung did the same right next to her and sighed.

“I.. Noona, I lack inspiration.” He whined to her cutely, what made her laugh loudly. He whined again at her outburst, folded his arms and pouted. She patted his head and smiled at him.

“Don’t push yourself, Hoshi-ya. Talk with someone, with the members. Dino would be ecstatic to help you.” She turned to him, also folding her arms and observing him closely. He was still pouting, looking down at his trainers. His eyebrows were creased like he was deep in thoughts.

“I already asked my team to help me with our song. Channie is working very hard on it. And Junnie is working hard on his covers, while Haohao works on ‘Dreams come true’, and he even asked  _ me _ for reviewing. I don’t want to dump more on them. They work more than enough already.”

She sighed and furrowed her brows too. She knew how Soonyoung sometimes could go overboard with working, starving for perfection during every practice. Hyelim touched his arm reassuringly.

“Then how about I help you?”

He looked at her alarmed and started shaking his head.

“No, no, Noona. You have so much work to do, too! I’ll get this, don’t worry!” Soonyoung shook his head again, catching one of her hands in his and smiling slightly. She smiled back, nodding her okay and squeezing his hands.

“Just don’t overwork yourself, alright? I’ll be watching you!” She chuckled as Soonyoung whined again, pouting cutely and trying to look smaller so he’d be even cuter.

“Noona, I won’t.” He then smiled his full smile, eyes crescent and teeth bared. “Thank you, Noona.”

“Anytime.” She watched him run up to his members, catching Wonwoo in a hug, who then became complaining about Soonyoung being all sweaty, but let himself be clinged to, as Jun handed his team leader his bag and a hoodie.

  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  
  


It was past midnight and Jihoon was packing his stuff to head to the dorms. Bumzu wanted to work a little bit on the songs for their next album, mostly adjusting of beats for hip hop unit song and the b-side track. Even though the older left about three hours ago, Jihoon was still there. Losing track of time wasn’t something that happened for the first time for him, he likes what he’s doing, so it’s not really a surprise. But he thought he got better at controlling the amount of time spent in the studio. He promised himself he would pay more attention the next time as he was locking the door, and then he headed down. Almost at the exit door, something forced him to stop and check the basement. Descending the stairs he could already hear the music, not really that loud but in an almost empty building it was being carried further.

There, he found a wild Hoshi, dancing again and again the same part of the song, stopping after every new move. Something he never did, as he prefered creating a small sequence before repeating. Jihoon could see his boyfriend was frustrated, and so he decided to stop his misery to take him home.

“Hey,” he said while unplugging Soonyoung’s phone. “Why are you still here?”

Soonyoung was panting slightly, looking at Jihoon with unfocused eyes. They were staring at each other for a while, neither saying a word. Jihoon got concerned 'cause Soonyoung was not moving a muscle. It was like he just freezed, his eyes slightly glassy signaling he was close to crying. 

“Soonie?” He got closer to the older and gently touched his arms. “What’s wrong? Soonie?”

The dancer just shook his head and placed his forehead on Jihoon’s shoulder. The smaller immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer, hands rubbing comfortingly up and down his back.

“Dear, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.. Nothing’s going right.” Soonyoung answered in a small voice and cuddled closer to Jihoon, holding him by the waist. Jihoon started rocking them from side to side, trying to calm down the silently sobbing Soonyoung. He pressed his lips against the older’s temple and held onto him even stronger.

After a few minutes Soonyoung started nosing at Jihoon’s neck, seemingly already in a better mood. The younger kissed the side of his head and hummed at being kissed back right under his jawline. 

“Come on, dear, we should get back to the dorms. You’ll tell me in bed, alright?”

Soonyoung sighed but nodded his head nonetheless, then reluctantly let go of his lover to shakely smile at him and gather his things so they could head back home.

The walk was silent, Soonyoung lost deep in his thoughts running in every direction, Jihoon trying to give the other some space to collect himself. They were walking right next to each other, enough to feel the other’s closeness and comfort. Jihoon was almost sure Soonyoung wasn’t even registering where he was at that moment, so keeping close was the only way the older was still able to continue the journey. When they got back to the dorms they immediately headed to Soonyoung’s shared room. Vernon was already in bed, watching something on his laptop with headphones on his head. After finally seeing them, he nodded his head in their direction and went back to watching, unbothered. Jihoon took out a clean shirt and boxers and pushed his boyfriend in the direction of a bathroom, while he himself started preparing the bed.

“Hyung is very stressed lately.”

A sudden voice made Jihoon almost jump in fright. He looked at Vernon, who stopped watching his laptop in order to focus on him. The younger looked tired himself. They were having a lot of practices, not only the group ones. Hansol was complaining about some aches located mostly in his legs, so he had more exercises to work them out.

“How are you? Are hyungs hard on you?” was what Jihoon asked instead. Because he knew Soonyoung was stressed, he could see him struggling. Vernon smiled and shook his head.

“They’re good, hyung. Actually, Hoshi hyung came today and trained with us. Hyungs were complaining that he was too stiff and couldn’t do some exercises well.” Jihoon was sure their  _ son _ was telling him that on purpose, but he couldn’t grasp what was the point. He creased his brows in confusion, desperately looking for a hole in what he heard.

“It was kinda strange because, you know, hyung’s probably the most flexible among us all,” Vernon finished, seeing as his hyung was unable to point out the wrong. At that Jihoon’s eyes expanded comically and he inhaled sharply.

“Were they criticising him much?” Vernon just nodded with a sad smile and looked down. The older immediately went over to him and patted his head, smoothing out the untamed hair. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll take care of it.”

That made Vernon look at him with alarmed eyes but he shook his head and softly told the younger to go to sleep already. Jihoon went out of the room and into the bathroom, where he could hear the water running. He sat down on a stool standing alone in a corner, and let himself be consumed by his own thoughts as he waited for Soonyoung to finish.

‘ _ How dared they? How dared they tell him something like that?! They perfectly well know that he’s overworked, not lacking exercises. They know how important it is for him to be in his best shape, this is why he fucking went to them. Probably also so Hansol won’t feel alone, but he could ask him for a meal and not go out of his way to go to another practice with him. They are so fucking gonna pay for this. I can have them fired! Oh well, I probably can’t, but that doesn’t mean I will just let them insult my Soonie like that without any consequences. Maybe I can join Hansol the next time and insult them back?’ _

His train of thoughts were cut short when the water stopped and the shower doors slid open. Soonyoung looked surprised that he’s sitting there, but after the initial shock, he smiled sweetly at his boyfriend.

“You could have join me, you know,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, smiling even wider. He grabbed the towel and started rubbing at his arms to dry them. Jihoon got up, took the towel out of his hands, and began drying Soonyoung himself.

“Oh, I could have?” Jihoon smirked at the older from under his bangs, trailing his hands with the towel down his stomach. He laughed quietly when he heard his boyfriend sigh.

“Jihoonie.”

But Jihoon wrapped the towel around Soonyoung’s hips and pecked his nose.

“You should have told me sooner, dear.” He then started to strip, teasing the older a little. When he only had his boxers on, he kissed Soonyoung passionately and patted his chest. 

“Babe, I think I forgot my clean clothes, how about you bring me some?” And then he slipped the boxers off and jumped into the shower at a speed of a light, sliding the doors closed.

  
  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ And I’m not sure what to think about _

_ For me to dream of such a world _

_ Where I’m not afraid to sleep _

_ Where I’m not afraid to sleep  _

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  
  


They were sitting in the practice room after a finished dance session. The preparations for the comeback were getting more and more hectic. The practices were getting longer and more intense everyday. Jihoon was leaning against one of the walls watching his members eating happily the pizza’s their manager hyungs bought for them. He felt someone sliding down the wall next to him, their thighs touching. 

“Eat, Jihoonie.” His sweet boyfriend gave him a slice of pizza with mushrooms and a lot of cheese on top, grabbed one for himself too, and began eating. Soonyoung was smiling again, the full, bright smile resembling the sun. He overcame his block and was back to being his bubbly self, helping others learn the dance, laughing and giving them the energy during late night hours. Jihoon smiled to himself too, suddenly remembering how much of a pain in the ass he was towards the hyungs in charge of Hansol’s personal trainings. After that session, Hansol told him he never had so much fun. 

There was a moment of silence between them, their sides pressed together reassuringly, before Seungcheol came to them. The oldest crouched down and patted Soonyoung head.

“Hoshi-ya.”

“Hi Coupsu hyung! Do we have to rush home?”

Soonyoung wanted to bite a larger piece of the pizza, but the leader stopped him, placing his hand on the younger’s arm. He smiled apologetically at his questioning eyes.

“Soonie, the manager hyung asked me to tell you, you should maybe go on a diet? They are saying you look too… chubby. I-,” he paused trying to find the right words to not hurt his friend. “I can’t really do anything about it, he said it’s an order from above. I’m sorry.”

He smiled sadly again, patted Soonyoung’s head again, and went back to talk with Seungkwan.

Jihoon was frowning way more than Soonyoung, who just dropped the uneaten piece of the pizza with a tired sigh. Jihoon watched it for a while as if the slice itself insulted him, and then he leaned into his boyfriend’s side.

“You look healthy that way, I don’t understand why you need to lose weight, when you are already this sexy.”

Soonyoung chuckled at it, looking at Jihoon with fond eyes. He blew a flying kiss to the younger and laughed at the disgusted expression he received. They haven’t talked about the issue further but Jihoon was sure, he already made some of the destructive thoughts haunting his boyfriend’s mind go away. 

  
  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ The crowd is coming at me _

_ Trampling everything in its way _

_ I can’t escape from it _

_ It can’t escape itself either _

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  
  


Comeback date came, and with it, all sorts of performances, fansigns and other events. They were currently sitting in one of the fansigns prepared for them. He was waving at Carats, making small talks, receiving hundreds of questions and answering them. He could recognize some of the fans, the ones that were coming again this comeback, or were just often present during their activities. Some were nice, some were less nice, but regardless how kind they were, he had to smile to every person. His cheeks were kinda getting numb from holding up his smile for too long, he couldn’t wait for a short break to wear the neutral ‘resting bitch face’. Another fan got in front of him and waved, if it wasn’t his nth one he’d deem it cute. He said hello and opened the album on his question. It read ‘Woozi is..?’, he got some of them already. But the proposed answers made him chuckle because the 4th option was ‘a zookeeper of the newly adopted tiger’. He was suddenly reminded he claimed to be one during an event sometime before. Soonyoung’s tiger agenda was gaining more and more followers among Carats and he got really pushy about it lately. He dressed in tiger stripes, he made  _ Horanghae, _ he was using the tiger emoji everywhere, even in their group chat. At first everyone found it hilarious how much he wanted to be a tiger, though everyone remembered to reprimand him from time to time, because not- stopped- Soonyoung was literally out of control. He did it more than once himself. And as much as other members got fed up with all of this with time, he was finding himself being pulled into it.

He looked at the post-it again, humming and seemingly debating with himself, hovering the pen above ‘Rice fairy’, but he soon crossed the 4th option and added some laugh just for it to be more “Jihoon-like”. The fan looked to be really excited with his choice as they smiled and wished for him health and happiness. He answered with the same sentiment and waved at the Carat, as they moved to the next member. His smile still felt stiff and hurted a little, but it was easier to find a reason for it.

  
  
  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ Can’t see the stars anymore, and how could you _

_ when such a glow comes from the ground, _

_ As if it wants to flood the world. _

_ As if it wants to flood the world. _

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  
  


There were many things Soonyoung loved about Jihoon. And one of them surely was his ability to surprise him. It was during their four days break from practices in late November, when they decided to celebrate the younger's birthdays. The whole group had a big meal in one of the dorms, they wished their precious Jihoonie a happy birthday, hugged him, some gave him small gifts. Soonyoung that evening was just watching everything unfold with fond eyes, happy for his Jihoonie’s happiness. He prepared his own gift but wanted to give it in private, not like it was something explicit or the members were not gonna see it later. But he prepared a long speech he wanted to recite uninterrupted. 

When they finally went into Jihoon’s room after playing some games and drinking soju, Soonyoung was nervous. He knew it was ridiculous but he couldn’t help it. 

Jihoon threw himself on his bed and looked at his boyfriend. Then he made grabby hands towards him and Soonyoung just couldn’t resist. While smiling from ear to ear he went to cuddle with the other, sighing when he was tucked under his chin. Jihoon was caressing his back with one hand and placing butterfly kisses onto his forehead. In return, Soonyoung nosed at his lover’s neck, smiling against his clavicle. They spent a few minutes like that, in silence, listening to each other’s heartbeat. Soonyoung could feel himself getting drowsier, so he gently broke away from Jihoon’s hold, and after sitting up, he tenderly caressed his face.

“You know, I can certainly say that you are the best that has ever happened to me.”

Jihoon smiled at him, catching his hand, and kissing the back of it, as he looked up coily.

“It's not a chance at debuting?” he asked, even if he already knew the answer.

Soonyoung shook his head and smiled even wider, whispering a soft ‘ _ no _ ’. Then he got up, went to a shelf hanging on the wall, next to the doors, grabbed something small from it and looked back at Jihoon, whose interest was already at its highest, but he didn’t make a move after that. He was watching as Jihoon, already sitting up contemplated for a moment and then got up himself, slowly making his way to Soonyoung.

“What is it that you’re hiding, dear?” He was smiling wide, anticipating the moment he would get his gift. In fact, Jihoon wasn’t the biggest fan of receiving gifts, but the idea of his lover selecting something with the pure thought of getting it for  _ him _ was something Jihoon couldn’t say no to. Soonyoung pecked his lips once, twice and then he kissed him fully, one hand coming up to touch his cheek gently, as the other went to Jihoon’s own hand to tangle his fingers around a small package. When he grasped it, Soonyoung held his face with the other hand too, slowly ending the kiss and resting their foreheads together. They were looking deep into the other’s eyes when Jihoon heard his boyfriend whisper an ‘ _ I love you _ ’, while smiling again. He thought he would cry in a moment, from happiness, from the overpowering mushiness that comes with such sweet moments of love. But Soonyoung looked down to his right hand, still holding the small package. 

“Open it?”

Jihoon chuckled, seeing his boyfriend being nervous around him again. That were rare moments. But he went back to the bed, tugging Soonyoung by his hand, sat down and slowly unwrapped the gift. Inside was a small glass cage with a little metal tree that had a few little round rosey stones installed, imitating the apple blossoms. It was simple, but oh so pretty, so meaningful, Jihoon choked a little, too many emotions coming at once.

“Thank you, Soonie. I love you.” The older smiled at him sweetly and kissed his head, still observing him with tenderness. After a moment of appreciating the beautiful thing, Jihoon laughed quietly and looked at the other. Soonyoung looked like a curious puppy, or should he say, tiger, waiting for his owner to show him a prize they won for being a good boy. But do tigers take on owners? 

“I actually saw something a few days ago, and bought it for you. Wait for a moment.” Jihoon placed his new possession delicately on the nightstand and went to his wardrobe. He took out a small, black box and went back to his lover. Soonyoung was looking curiously at it the whole time. When Jihoon was finally sitting back on the bed he pushed the box into Soonyoung’s hands, who cautiously opened it and gasped at its content. Inside was a subtle silver chain with a little pendant in a shape of a white blossom with a slightly pink hue. 

“I just remembered the day you took me to the apple orchard…” Now it was Jihoon who was flustered and nervous. He bowed his head a little, so his blush wouldn’t be that visible. That were years ago and this memory still made him blush like mad. 

“Jihoonie~” He could swear Soonyoung was close to crying in that moment. His voice trembling, eyes glassy. He leaned to kiss him shortly, then he took out the chain and put it on his boyfriend, clipping the fastening closed. Soonyoung looked down at it, picked the blossom up with two fingers, then looked at Jihoon and kissed him again.

“It’s late, we should sleep, dear.”

  
  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ I can’t move forward _

_ My legs are stuck with tape _

_ I’m starting to fall _

_ I’m falling upside down _

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  
  


_ The training in the company was hard but also funny. He was learning a lot of things, even if trying to complete his studies alongside the training was sometimes very difficult. Though he wasn’t the one who had it the worst. Soonyoung had to travel to Namyangju everyday, Chinese members were in a totally new country, some not knowing Korean that well. But there were still some disadvantages he was facing too. For example he was living far from home. Not China-far, but still, he couldn’t go and see his family just like that. That’s when Soonyoung came to his rescue. Their debut date was almost finally decided, so they got three days of rest. Three days are a tad bit too little to go to Busan, spend some quality time and get back. He also saw his parents not too long ago, so at first he decided to stay in the dorms, maybe go for a walk or something.  _

_ But of course Soonyoung had different plans. _

_ “Jihoonie, come with me! I want to show you something!” _

_ And Jihoon just couldn’t say no to the olders pout and puppy eyes. They went by the bus to Namyangju, Soonyoung’s parents picked them up from the bus stop. They ate a traditional dinner with lots of kimchi, thanks to Soon’s strange fixation with it. He was shown some funny photos of little Soonyoung, chubby and clumsy at first, and then more adroit but still chubby. They slept in his old room, squeezed into one bed, warm and comfortable. _

_ The next day, Soonyoung’s older sister took them after the breakfast to see something amazing, as per what Soonyoung was claiming. They drew for about ten minutes before they reached a beautiful old house, a little bit further to the south from the city. The owner, an older man, some wrinkles already adoring his face, but with such bright eyes and smile, Jihoon might have mistaken him for being Soonyoung’s uncle. It wasn’t a family, but a friend of the siblings’ father. He ushered them inside for a cup of tea, and after some awkward time for Jihoon, just sipping his tea and being the friend of the talkative one, they were free to go. Soonyoung took out a big blanket, while his Noona grabbed the basket, that Jihoon didn’t know they had. They went around the house and suddenly Jihoon was amazed. Long rows of apple trees were standing tall before him, a light breeze making the blossoms swirl in the air before they gently touched the ground. He felt Soonyoung taking his hand, as he was stunned with the beautiful sight before him. The older tugged him forward, until they reached about halfway into the orchard. Soonyoung put down the blanket and pulled Jihoon on it, grabbing some soda from the basket. _

_ “Amazing, isn't it?” Asked Soonyoung’s sister, as she also settled on the blanket. “My friend told me that apple blossoms symbolize love. And before roses were made such a hot item for love, it was apple blossoms that people were placing on their beds to, you know, magic it into being more sensual, or something.” _

_ And while Jihoon almost choked on his saliva, Soonyoung was happily laughing and jokingly complaining to his sister about how they are too young to hear such things. And as Jihoon tuned them out for a moment, grabbing one of the petals falling from the tree above them, and gently rubbing it between his fingers, he thought about the meaning of it. “ _ Love, huh? _ ” He thought, as his eyes involuntarily catched Soonyoung’s smile. _

  
  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ I think that in a moment I will wake up, _

_ But the more I’m falling, the more I can see the fact _

_ That everything might not be a dream _

_ That everything might not be a dream _

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

  
  
  


He was minding his own business, trying to write some words sounding good together, when he got a notification. His phone lit up, but was too far for him to see what it was, so he decided to let it go and concentrate back on the lyrics. After a minute or so, his phone pinged again, and then again. It was getting a little bit irritating, not that his writing was going anywhere. After another notification he decided he had enough, and grabbed his phone to unlock it. It was Soonyoung, of course, who else, commenting on Weverse. As always, he immediately got interested. He opened a random one, and saw the fan’s post, comparing Soonyoung to a hamster, and the member in question answered with a ‘ _ tiger _ ’ and a tiger emoji. He laughed quietly at his boyfriend being pouty in the comments again, and closed the app. He realized it was past eleven again, so he decided to pack up and head home. 

When he was finally back, he first went to take a quick shower. On his way out he saw Mingyu on the sofa in the living room, giggling at his phone like a madman. ‘ _ He’s probably watching the doggo vids again. _ ’ Jihoon smiled to himself and grabbed his favourite blanket. He went to Soonyoung’s room and got inside without knocking, though still quiet as Soonyoung might be already asleep. What greeted him was something he would rather never see again.

Soonyoung was lying on bed, shirtless, his favourite comfy pants low on his hips. One of his arms were thrown atop his eyes, while the other gripped one of his plushie tigers. He was letting out soft sounds that after a moment Jihoon recognized as sobs. He rushed to Soonyoung’s side, removing the arm covering his eyes. He was crying. And his eyes said it wasn’t because he was sad. They were fierce, almost angry.

“What happened, dear? Do I need to kill someone?”

Soonyoung let out a choked sound, probably meant to be a chuckle, but the tears were still going down into his hairline. Jihoon took the other’s face in his hands and wiped the wet stripes. Soonyoung slowly sat up, letting go of his tiger plushie, in order to grab his Jihoonie’s shirt. 

“It’s just that..” he stopped for a moment, shuffling closer. “During the fanmeets, Carats were showing me hamster photos, or commenting how much I remind them of hamsters, it’s nothing bad. I mean, I used to hype the hamster thing too, but…”

He stopped again, and Jihoon wasn’t pushing him, instead letting him gather his thoughts. He knew Soonyoung was kind of fighting with the hamster part of his fandom, but he wasn’t aware it was affecting him so much. Not to the point of tears.

“It’s just frustrating, Jihoonie. At first it was funny how they would just fight with me, but lately I’m getting tired of it. It’s getting uncomfortable, especially when the interaction is in real time, like during the fanmeets. I don’t know how to  _ not _ show that it’s an issue for me.”

Jihoon could only listen and hug his frustrated boyfriend, slowly rubbing his back comfortingly. 

“Is it so bad they’re doing it? The members are doing it too. Me even.” Soonyoung shook his head, hiding his face in Jihoon’s neck and sighing. 

“But you know when to stop, and they are pushing more and more. I don’t even know why I'm crying.” He laughed, untangling himself from his boyfriend and wiping his face again. He looked at Jihoon with a small smile, bringing his hand up and stroking his left cheek tenderly.

“I love you.”

Jihoon smiled sheepishly, ducking his head for a split second, before connecting their gazes. He turned his head slightly without breaking their eye contact and kissed Soonyoung’s palm.

“Horanghae.”

Soonyoung smiled his brightest, one that reached his eyes, making them two cute crescents, and hugged Jihoon, nuzzling into his hair.

“Wash your face and let’s get to sleep, alright, dear?”

Soonyoung hummed, got up and went out of the room. Jihoon sighed, and then immediately smiled. Soonyoung was often hunted by his demons. His insecurities, even from before debut. His perfectionism tiring him out constantly. And all other little conflicts going around. But Jihoon was looking over him, trying his hardest to make him happy. And he smiled even brighter when he saw Soonyoung getting back into the room, running and throwing himself at Jihoon, laughing loud. When they settled under the covers, lying close and just enjoying each other’s presence, the younger thought to himself, watching his love’s eyes flutter close as he fell into a peaceful slumber.

‘ _ Mission accomplished, Jihoon. _ ’

  
  


︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

_ Even though I don’t want to wake up _

_ I can’t fall asleep _

_ The world is as strange as a dream _

_ And the dream as strange as the world. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!!
> 
> I am finally doing something here (and anywhere tbh)!! I'm super happy to be able to go back to writing, even if it's still a little hard for me. 
> 
> I'm sorry if this one might be a bit disappointing, I'm not very confident with it, if I have to say. I changed 3 scenes, two of them didn't make it in the end. Tbh I wanted it to look a little bit different, especially the flashback, but as I said, it's still hard for me to write, to visualize in a way I can pour it into words. So I left it like this. It's not the worst, believe me, when I first went back to writing it I felt the way I was forming the sentences were so flat I had to redo half of it.
> 
> If anyone is following my twitter account they might have realised I posted the last draw on a different one. That's because I made a new one, dedicated only to my Soonhoon writings! [Here](https://twitter.com/teitatoo_0615) it is! I will be posting some more things now about the new works. Like a title, a sneak peak or so. And I'm already sorry, I suck at editing, I wish I'll have some more free time to learn how to do it right.  
I'm still collecting the ideas of anyone who wants to drop it, you can do it [right here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkPF7oO9aYavHcXgQNdbuNVRLfgwQhj7kboDlMrJCwoepslA/viewform?usp=sf_link)


	7. Susurrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, (I added some slight smut and too much drama tbh)
> 
> The prompt: We all know that Alphas are protective on their Omega right? I just want to see how Soonyoung, Jun, Mingyu and Seungcheol gets protective over their omegas.. and how did they bond or mark their omegas. And how do they handle their omega's heat.
> 
> The author: Anonymous
> 
> Warnings: rated M, because there's a slight smut scene (if you want to skip it stop reading when you see "❗️⛔️❗️", and you can start again after "🔵✔️" I will summarize it in the end notes!)
> 
> Word count: 6041

_ **Susurrus** _

_noun_

whispering or rustling

from latin:_susurrus_ (whisper) -> _susurrare _(to murmur, hum)

* * *

Seventeen is kind of a strange group, if you’d look at it. All agencies usually decide on either only Alpha groups, only Omega groups or mixed Alpha - Beta or Beta - Omega groups. Alphas with Omegas in one group is just too much work, too much to look out for, to take into the account. The hard thing about it was that the trainees are mostly joining before the presentation. Of course, everyone has to take a test that would determine a most possible outcome. But it’s not always precise. 

Pledis didn’t want to wait for everyone to present to decide if they would be in one group or not. So they decided to make a completely mixed group, having Alphas, Betas and Omegas all together. And so, the 17 project was created, which led to Seventeen being born.

They were not only revolutionary on that aspect, though it wasn’t such an issue, even with the media, as they thought it would be. Of course, the media took up the information with a little surprise, there were a lot of articles at the very start, some were supporting the brave step, fed up with the current system not supporting the mixed groups. Because of course others were trying to form such groups before, but either failed to support them or didn’t gain the desired exposure. Pledis was aiming for the exposure but not because they have a mixed group, but because the members are working hard to create their music and performances. 

There were also negative articles, saying they are too many people with too many Alphas and Omegas. Because that was also strange for them. There weren’t many Betas in the group. Only three presented as such, Joshua, Seokmin and Vernon. Betas were known for maintaining balance, especially when there were a lot of Alphas. So having less Betas than Alphas was a risky move. Still, Pledis pushed through the process of debuting them, even with all the risk it was bearing. 

Despite the disadvantage of having a lot of people going through ruts and heats, having a lot of people going through ruts and heats was also beneficial. Usually, when there were only a few non-Beta members, their cycles were mismatched. That meant the members had to take breaks at different times, which was problematic, as their company had to maneuver over to try and find a suitable date for promotions and such. But for Seventeen it wasn’t really a problem. After ‘95 and ‘96 cycles came to a match, the rest were naturally triggered at the same time, resulting in one week break for everyone, every three months. That let Pledis work around that break easier than ever. 

It also opened the possibility for members helping each other out, making the process faster than spending it in cycle - centers, and what was really important: much less painful for both sides. The first pair that decided to do so were Seungcheol and Jeonghan. After Jeanghan’s first heat, lasting 7 days of agonizing pain as he was genetically susceptible to more intense heats, and Seungcheol being restless for all 7 days, they agreed it would be most beneficial for them. After debuting, when both Jun and Soonyoung presented as Alphas, Seungcheol became restless and soon asked Jeonghan to be his boyfriend. He was still growling at both Alphas everytime they came closer than 10 meters from Jeonghan, when he was in pre-heat. But it was still better than almost attacking them. 

Wonwoo and Jihoon presented as Omegas, which was kind of a shock to them. The pre-test predicted Wonwoo to be Beta, and as much as this was still common when it confused a strong Omega, or a less dominant Alpha as a Beta, then Jihoon’s result was much less heard of. The test showed he would be an Alpha, and no one was really surprised. So when he started crying because he was suddenly uncomfortable while sitting next to Jeonghan, and then Soonyoung dropping his mug, eyes growing wide and just randomly going into rut in the middle of the living room, while Jihoon made his way to him and just curled up on his lap; being surprised was an understatement. It was much less usual for the test to miss the outcome so much.

The doctor said later, it was probably due to Jihoon’s outstanding domination, rivaling even other Alphas’ in the group. And it did come close to Alpha’s level of domination, as during his next pre-heat, the last day precisely, he went up to Soonyoung and just told him he smells nice so Jihoon expects him in his room in an hour, then went back, probably to prepare himself. And when Seungcheol made the younger Alpha go to the heat room and locked the door from the outside; after the previously mentioned hour, Jihoon stormed out of his room, slick dripping down his legs and onto the floor, because of his already full heat, he asked where is Soonyoung.

“I locked him in the heat room, as both of your judgement is clouded, so I’m saying no to any helping, and oh god, go back to your room!”

Jihoon almost strangled him. It was like he went feral at the information of his chosen Alpha being denied him. Thank every holy being for Joshua being in the room, screaming for help and getting Jihoon off of Seungcheol, with the help of Mingyu, who then took the Omega to his room, and barricaded the door with a small table and a chair. And as much as Soonyoung was probably just jerking off, even though he was a very dominant Alpha, Jihoon was screaming at them to let him out, crying, banging on the doors. Finally they did, afraid of other people calling the police because it was way past the curfew. They still didn’t open the doors to the heat room and Jihoon was still mad, but he took his bedding, made a small nest next to the heat room’s doors and curled up there, whimpering for the rest of the night. 

The next day he almost attacked again, this time it was Jun, who only wanted to ease some of the younger’s pain by throwing his hoodie at him. At first Jihoon grabbed it and stretched it over his chest, but then the scent made him see red, and not in an Omega-in-heat way. The result: Jun was afraid to come closer to Jihoon for the next few weeks. After Soonyoung’s rut letting off a bit, Joshua let him out, allowing Jihoon to jump onto the Alpha, nuzzling his head all over him. Soonyoung carried him to the living room, where Jihoon humped against him with his nose buried in the other’s scent glands, coming after only a few rubs. He was finally asleep in the next few minutes, and Soonyoung let him while rubbing his back in slow circles. They laid his tired sleeping body in the heat room later, and Soonyoung hated himself for the next four days at every cry from Jihoon.

After that, they established they will help each other. 

* * *

Jihoon often felt jealous. Soonyoung wasn’t his boyfriend, but he felt some kind of an _ ownership _, if you could call it that. It was not like he really owned Soonyoung, as he was his own person and not an object to own. But he still felt like he had some right to spend time with the Alpha. They were friends after all.

But so were Soonyoung and Wonwoo, and even though it was Jihoon who Soonyoung was helping during his heat, the other Omega took it upon himself to monopolize the Alpha any other moment. Which, of course, was driving Jihoon mad. It was nearly two years of their pact going, but the Omega had a feeling of being more and more distant with the Alpha lately. The last two heats, it was Jihoon just bouncing on top of the other, with Soonyoung only holding his legs gently. No words, no tender touches. And Jihoon was afraid.

They all said the best partner for a very dominant Omega is a Beta, or a submissive Alpha, which was as rare as his domination. But for some reason he was insanely drawn to Soonyoung. The Alpha had something in him, that was almost scary. Jihoon knew he was highly dominant, but everytime his heat comes, he feels a disturbing need inside to submit. He wants to make cozy nests for Soonyoung, so they can cuddle together, as he lays on top of the Alpha, listening to his heartbeat as it softly lulls him to sleep. And Jihoon was absolutely terrified of his thoughts. Firstly, because what was even happening to him? For him to want to be manhandled like that? Insane, right? But he was mainly scared, because it seemed like it would never happen. Soonyoung was growing distant and he didn’t know why. Wonwoo was smugly sneering at him, while gluing himself to the Alpha. And Jihoon was growing more and more anxious every day.

“What is making you so mad again, Jihoon-ah?” Jeonghan stroked his hair and he immediately jerked away from his touch, hissing quietly. The older didn’t mind though, as he made himself comfortable on the sofa next to Jihoon.

“You’re restless lately, and it’s making me restless too. So what is it?”

Jihoon was silent for a moment, looking gloomily into the direction of the kitchen, when he could still see a little bit of Soonyoung making tea for Wonwoo. Jeonghan patted his thigh and he looked at the older.

“I feel like I’m losing, hyung.”

Jeonghan just laughed, and Jihoon went back to staring at Soonyoung’s profile, mad at himself for even entertaining the other and answering his question. Soonyoung must have finished preparing the tea, as he disappeared from his view and probably went to sit by the table.

“You and Jun.” Jihoon looked at him again, this time in disbelief. “You two should probably talk. It looks like both of you are losing something.” Any traces of laughter gone from his face, as Jeonghan was looking in the direction he was just moments ago. Then the older got up and went to Joshua, hugging the other’s waist and smiling at him. Jihoon looked back in search for a glimpse of Soonyoung, but was faced with a sad smile of Jun, exiting the kitchen. The Alpha went to his room and Jihoon furrowed his brows in thought. Maybe he really should talk with Jun?

  
  


* * *

  
  


Saying he should talk with the older Alpha was actually much easier than doing so. It still seemed like Jun was afraid of him, because he was doing an amazing job at avoiding him. Jihoon realized that the only time they were together in a room was when Soonyoung was there too. And as much as he wanted to talk with Jun, he didn’t want to tell him about his unbridled need to bed the other Alpha, with said Alpha breathing down his neck. Because that was the second regularity he observed. Every damn time he got closer to Jun, Soonyoung magically appeared next to him. He was flattered, and even began blushing slightly when Soonyoung just pressed himself into his side, even while still talking to Wonwoo. So when he finally catched Jun leaving the bathroom, without Soonyoung being close, he grabbed his wrist and pulled him into his room. 

“Jihoon?! What are you doing?!” His voice was alarmed, eyes blown wide and back pressed into the wall. _ Talk about who is the Alpha here _, Jihoon chuckled to himself. He straightened his back and looked at the other with seriousness written all over him.

“You want to mate with Wonwoo, right?” Jun opened his eyes even wider, Jihoon wondered how was that even possible; and mouthed a _ wtf _ at him. Jihoon sighed and scratched his head.

“Look, I don’t like him being all over Soonyoung, you know? We can work together to get them apart.” Jun looked like he calmed down a little, and even if he had some recognition in his eyes, he was still unconvinced. 

“You do realize they are friends, right?” Was all Jun said, smiling amusingly. Jihoon snorted, turned back and started pacing around the room.

“Of course I know. But Wonwoo hoggs Soonyoung to himself all of the time, I can’t even talk to him without Won being there too. Besides, Soonyoung is growing distant and I’m sure that’s Wonwoo’s work. My last heat, he just barged here without knocking, when we were in the middle of things, and asked Soonyoung to hurry up because he needed him! And Soonyoung did go to him right after we finished!”

Jun walked to sit on his bed, sighing deeply. He was thinking for some time, Jihoon waiting somewhat patiently for the other to speak, even if his anxiousness was growing again.

“Look, Jihoon.” When Jun finally started talking, Jihoon immediately took two steps closer, anticipating what the other would say. “Wonwoo is still hesitant to spend his heat with me, but we’re getting there. Maybe it’s you who should change your attitude? Soonyoung is a dominant Alpha, so even if he can understand you are dominant too, that doesn’t mean he wants to put up with your selfishness forever.”

“My WHAT!? Take it back or..”

Loud knocking saved Jun. Jihoon was ready to scream at anyone that interrupted him, but when Soonyoung’s head poked from behind the doors, he felt like he was close to crying.

“Jihoonie?” His eyes shifted to Jun, looking relieved but still a bit shaken. “Oh, Jun-ah. Did I interrupt something?” His voice cracked a little at the end, eyes looking down. Before Jihoon made any sound, Jun jumped from the bed, making his way to the doors, trying to stay as far as possible from the Omega. 

“No! We finished talking, I’m out. Bye.” When he pushed past Soonyoung, he muttered so only the Alpha would hear: “_ Thanks man, he almost killed me _.” And like that he was off.

Soonyoung was unsure what to do next, apologize and go to his room, or make sure that Jihoon wasn’t going to murder anyone. It was quiet for a moment, and then Jihoon asked shyly.

“Do you want to come in?” He wasn’t facing the Alpha, looking down to his tightly held hands, like he wasn’t sure he could even propose such a thing. Soonyoung smiled at him, even if the younger wouldn’t see, and went inside, closing the doors. Jihoon looked up at him, and upon locking their gazes he quickly turned around and stalked to his own bed. He didn’t sit though, just standing, looking at his blanket. Soonyoung went forward and made himself comfortable on the spot previously occupied by Jun, and looked up at the Omega.

“Is everything alright? You smell agitated.” Soonyoung didn’t make any more moves and just waited for Jihoon to do or say something. Jihoon felt kind of awkward. He was finally alone with the Alpha, but he himself was acting strange. It was like his wolf was taking control over him, and like many other times Jihoon let him. But in that moment it felt different, not like the dominant Omega he was used to, but an Omega desperate to keep the Alpha interested. He felt himself fidgeting at Soonyoung’s intense stare, being lost of what to do and how to act. Being afraid of doing something wrong, making the Alpha leave him. He took a deep breath, Soonyoung’s comforting scent filling him, and he calmed down a little.

“Just… Jun said something confusing.” He pouted and finally sat next to the other, close but not touching. Soonyoung, still looking at him closely, tilted his head in wonder. He could tell that Jihoon wasn’t really keen on explaining, so he let it drop, changing the topic instead.

“Did you know that Hao went into heat today when we were in the practice room?” He wanted to talk about something Jihoon would find familiar to help him relax, but this information only made him more stiff than before.

“He did? Have you..” The unasked question was heavy in the air, but clear for Soonyoung to read. 

“Mingyu came from nowhere and grabbed him, sneering at everybody. Too bad you haven’t seen it. It was probably the first time he didn’t look like a lost puppy.” Soonyoung laughed a little, remembering the younger Alpha trying to look intimidating. After calming, he looked at Jihoon, who was already staring at him. Again, when their eyes met, Jihoon looked down and bit his lower lip. Soonyoung could tell by the Omega’s scent, that he didn’t want him to go. Lately, Jihoon’s scent was getting easier to decipher, even if he was acting a bit strange. Jihoon’s wolf was reaching out to him, and Soonyoung swore to himself that he wouldn’t let him down. 

“Have you showered yet?” At Jihoon’s “_ no _” he continued. “Then how about you go to the bathroom, as I will ready your bed? It’s time to change the sheets, right?”

The younger did as told and went to take a shower, while Soonyoung busied himself in the room. Jihoon had a habit of changing his sheets before going into pre-heat, so he would feel better, and could build his nest on a nicely smelling bed. When Jihoon got back, he was already finishing, zipping the last pillow. The younger came closer to inspect his work, touching his now dark blue pillow, and smiling slightly. He thanked the Alpha, taking the pillow from him and hugging it to his chest.

“Are you feeling better now, Jihoonie?” The Omega nodded and they smiled at each other. Soonyoung caressed Jihoon’s head, pulling his fringe back.

“Do you want to stay?”

Jihoon really wanted it, so much he didn't realize he voiced it out, until Soonyoung came even closer and nodded, muttering a quiet “_ if you want me to, I’ll stay _”. Jihoon smiled, threw the pillow onto the bed and hugged Soonyoung instead, nuzzling into his chest. The Alpha pulled him even closer and placed his head on Jihoon’s. 

* * *

He went into the living room and sat down on one of the sofas. He relaxed and leaned his head on the headrest, closing his eyes. Soon, he felt a presence near, a scent of fresh vanilla cake slowly coconning him.

“You were in Jihoon’s room. What for?” The male came closer, but didn’t sit next to him. He opened his eyes and looked at Wonwoo. He was wearing a sleeveless top and shorts, his hair still moist. The Omega usually didn’t like dressing like this, but it was almost the heat week, and he knew Wonwoo was constantly warm while in pre-heat. He patted the space besides him and smiled. Wonwoo was uncertain, but he finally moved to sit down.

“I am one hundret percent sure Jihoon wants me to get you away from Soonyoung.” Wonwoo snorted, crossing his arms on his chest. His scent flaring a little, irritated. 

“Actually, he is kind of right. We barely talk lately.”

“You know why.” Wonwoo whined, looking at Jun with big eyes, making himself look a bit smaller in his seat. He sighed then, looking down.

“They don’t match well, but still try to make this… friends-with-benefits thing go on. Young-ah is being drained by Jihoon. I want to help him.” 

Wonwoo leaned closer to the Alpha, sighing heavily. Jun reached for him, pulling him closer, until the Omega could nuzzle against his neck. The Alpha was drawing circles in a slow motion on his back, calming him down.

“It will be alright, I know it. Let’s just wait a bit more.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Moon Junhui, stop!” The said male whipped his head around. Jihoon was walking fast into his direction, an angry scowl on his face. Jun cursed in this head, looking around for help, but they were alone in the hallway, the rest of the members were in the practice room at the end of the hall.

“If I scream, they will hear me!” Jihoon stopped abruptly and stared at the Alpha with incomprehension written all over his face. “If you try something.” 

“Look I want to know what you meant yesterday.” The younger one looked stressed a bit, maybe even wild. Jun saw the way Jihoon glued himself to Soonyoung, much like Wonwoo was doing it before. But now Soonyoung was trying to comfort the Omega, and _ his _ Omega knew he couldn’t do anything about it. The Alpha was taking solace out of it, too.

“Look, Jihoon..”

“Jihoonie?”

Again, a certain Alpha materialized just when he’s needed, this time alongside Wonwoo. Jihoon looked back at Soonyoung, and spotting Wonwoo, he almost jumped at the Alpha to be sure he was the one holding him. Wonwoo came closer to Jun, not overreacting like the other, but still keeping close enough. 

“Soonyoung, no, wait!” Jihoon untangled one of the older’s arms from around him, stopped him from pulling them away from the other two, and twisted a little in his hold. He looked at Jun as best as he could while the side of his face was pressed into a board torso.

“What did you mean?! I need to know!” Soonyoung stopped pulling at Jihoon and stilled, not looking at anyone present there. He didn’t let Jihoon get away, not like the younger was fighting anymore, he even squeezed his waist a little bit too tight, to be honest.

Jun shook his head, smiling a little, took a hold of Wonwoo’s hand and started walking into the direction of the practice room, not saying a word.

“What did you mean, damn it! Soonyoung let me go, I have to get the answer!”

“Give a little, Jihoon. Give.”

Jihoon went slack at that, not wriggling anymore in Soonyoung’s hold. They heard the door to the practice room being closed. For a short moment, no one spoke, silence both sweet and heavy settling around them. After a moment, Jihoon nuzzled back into the Alpha, relaxing while breathing in his scent.

“Can we go home, Soonie?”

And who’s Soonyoung to deny his Omega’s request?

  
  


* * *

It was the next day that started the heat week for good. Most of the group was woken up by Jeonghan screaming at Seungcheol to get back to his room. After living with them for so long no one paid them muchany attention anymore. The oldest was, like always, trying to get some food and water before his Omega pulled him into the bed.

It so happened that Mingyu and Minghao finally got back to the dorms that afternoon. They were staying in one of the special rooms in the Pledis building, prepared specially for such situations. After 3 days together, they were able to move to the comfort of their own rooms, to ride out the remains of their heat and rut. As the Chinese Omega was still in heat, when Wonwoo greeted him with a hug, some of the younger’s scent clinged to him, and by the evening his cycle also started. He was in the kitchen, eating some ramyeon, when he started feeling awfully hot. Knowing he didn’t have that much time, he slurped the noodles twice as fast. Soonyoung was making himself a toast, so after Wonwoo finished eating, he asked in a small voice.

“Young-ah, would you clean this? I’m a minute away.”

Soonyoung looked at his flushed face and nodded, immediately walking up to his side to take the dirty dishes and help his friend. Unfortunately, when Wonwoo stood up, his knees buckled as a wave of fever ran through him. Soonyoung catched him just in time, taking more of the younger’s weight onto his chest. It was bad luck that Jihoon chose that particular moment to walk into the kitchen. He was still unseen, watching Soonyoung, _ his Soonyoung _ , shush another Omega, an Omega _ in heat _ while holding him close. He slowly back out of the kitchen, still watching _ his _Alpha ask the other if he was alright, if he needed anything. Then he swiftly turned around and started running to his own room, a choked sob escaping his lips. Seungkwan, Vernon and Jun looked his way from where they were playing a game by the table.

“What happened with hyung? His heat started?”

“I don’t think so, Nonnie. He wouldn’t be able to run like that.” Seungkwan was still looking into the direction his precious hyung just ran off to, as Jun stood up. Before he could even make a step, Soonyoung emerged from the kitchen, holding Wonwoo, who was panting slightly, calling Jun’s name. The other Alpha was beside them in a flash, gathering the Omega into his arms. Soonyoung smiled at him, not like Jun saw it, eyes all for Wonwoo, cuddling closer to him.

“Jihoon saw you, I suppose.” Was what the Chinese man said, still watching his Omega. “Ran off while sobbing.” Then he briefly looked at Soonyoung, who had a pained expression on his face. Before he could answer, Jun started leading Wonwoo to his room, without another word. 

“Soonie-hyung, are you and Jihoon-hyung arguing? He’s acting pretty strange lately.” Seungkwan touched Soonyoung’s arm, looking up at him cutely. He shook his head no and excused himself to go to Jihoon’s room. The doors were closed but not locked, and from the inside he could hear some soft noises. When he went inside, Jihoon was covered by his comforter, the nest thrown all around the bed and floor. It hurt Soonyoung to see the way all of the favourite pillows and blankets of the Omega were just abandoned carelessly like that. 

“Go away!” It was almost barked from under the sheets, but with a weak voice. Soonyoung came closer and started collecting the thrown items without saying a word. He released more of his scent in hopes of calming the younger. He could smell Jihoon begging him to not go. His usual scent of sweet orange with a hint of mint, in that moment underlined by a burnt coffee, was reaching out to him. But at the same time it smelled unsure, afraid. And Soonyoung was bewildered that he could tell so well what Jihoon was feeling, just by his scent.

After a short moment of silence, the Omega still covered whole, Soonyoung still picking up the blankets, Jihoon sat up and looked accusingly at the other, holding the sheets tightly to his chest. Soonyoung looked back at him and his heart broke at the tear stained face he was presented with. He let go of everything he was holding in his arms and rushed to the younger’s side.

“Jihoonie. Oh my, why are you crying?” He wanted to hug the Omega, but he pushed Soonyoung away, looking absolutely dejected.

“Go to Wonwoo. I don’t need your help.”

But the tears falling down his cheeks told the Alpha something else. Despite Jihoon trying to get away from him, Soonyoung still pushed forward, until he could wipe the tears, and when the younger’s protests weakened, he pulled Jihoon into a warm, comforting hug.

“Shhh, I’m here, I’m not going anywhere. My Jihoonie, don’t cry anymore. I don’t want Wonwoo, only you.” The Omega finally snuggled close, fitting himself into Soonyoun’d lap.

“The nest is ruined.” His voice was muffled by Soonyoung’s clothes, as Jihoon pressed his face into the older’s shoulder.

“We can build it again. Together, if you want to.” Jihoon’s breath hitched at the proposition, as usually only mated pairs were building their nests together; and even after mating, Omegas are sometimes reluctant to let their Alphas help. The idea of Soonyoung being inside his nest from the very start made him feel so lightheaded, so incredibly happy. He hurriedly nodded, cuddling even closer and smiling slightly.

“We can.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Building the nest was harder than Soonyoung previously thought. Especially with how Jihoon wanted it in a particular way. He was tired when they finished, and Soonyoung wanted to laugh at himself because it was only placing the pillows and blankets. He was never this grateful for Jihoon preparing it himself during every heat. He didn’t know it was so complicated to place the items in a way they wouldn’t fall off or get in the way, and still be pretty. Jihoon was very patient with him though, and the Omega was absolutely delighted when they finished. It was nearing one am so they decided to just cuddle and sleep. Jihoon was fast asleep in his arms, puffing soft breaths into Soonyoung’s skin, which relaxed him in such a way, he soon too fell into a deep slumber.

❗️⛔️❗️

Something wet and hot licking all over his neck woke him up. It was still dark and quiet, so the soft whimpers were loud in his ears. Soonyoung willed himself to open his eyes and looked down. The top of Jihoon’s head welcomed him, hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, body so warm it was becoming uncomfortable to stay under the covers.

“Jihoonie.” He got another whimper as an answer, this time it wasn’t a painful one, but needy, as Soonyoung’s hand started running up and down the Omega’s body.

Soonyoung reached for the younger’s face and titled it up. Jihoon’s eyes were glassy, but not completely wild, like he expected. Soonyoung smiled softly as the Omega climbed up onto his body, leaning down for a kiss. They were still dressed, so Soonyoung sat up not breaking the kiss, causing Jihoon to sit on his lap. He finally let them breath after a moment and pulled their shirts off. Jihoon attacked his lips again as Soonyoung’s hands traveled down his back, slipping under the briefs to grab a hold of his butt. Jihoon moaned at that, pressing himself closer to Soonyoung. The Omega could smell how the older’s smell shifted, indicating that his rut also started. And he loved that it was him who was initiating it. Jihoon swore he could get drunk on the smell of Soonyoug’s rut, of it dancing around him, exciting, inviting to press more, feel better. 

Soonyoung guided his hips up. He lifted himself and the Alpha pulled his underwear down. He moaned again at the way Soonyoung was eyeing him, hungry eyes roaming over his body like he was a prey. Jihoon got off the other for a moment to get rid of his briefs completely, which the Alpha also used to take off his own clothing. After throwing them somewhere, Jihoon got back to sitting on top of Soonyoung, hands roaming his naked chest. The older was holding onto his thighs, drawing circles on them, squeezing a little. Jihoon could feel his slick running down all over Soonyoung, and that thought alone almost made him tear up from happiness. 

“Soonyoung.” Jihoon lowered himself to kiss the other again, and he could feel Soonyoung’s hands traveling up over his butt and massaging the muscles slowly. He whined into the kiss and finally decided to be brave for once. He pushed himself up a bit, looked into Soonyoung’s eyes, which were filled with desire, but also something soft, lovely, and he knew he would not regret that decision.

“Soonyoung, _ my Alpha _.” He watched with fascination as the other’s eyes started glistening with something dangerous. His butt was squeezed hard, and a low growl vibrated under his hand that was pressed over Soonyoung’s heart. “I want you to take me.”

The growl intensified, clouding Jihoon’s mind for a moment. A hard slap brought him back with a yelp. His eyes watered, and Jihoon thought he was going to go insane because of all the feelings running through him. He let himself fall onto the hard chest, and pressed his nose to the other’s scent glands, breathing out a soft “_ Please, Alpha _”. Soonyoung flipped him over, hovering above him, still growling soundly.

“Do you even know what you’re asking for?” Jihoon knew it was Soonyoung’s way of giving him one more chance to back off, but he didn’t take it. Instead he nodded vigorously, reaching for the older’s body, to pull him closer. A soft whine escaped Jihoon and it was all it took for the Alpha to take action. He kissed the Omega roughly, reaching with one hand to bring Jihoon’s leg up. The younger immediately wrapped them around Soonyoung’s waist, pulling him even closer. The Alpha ended the kiss, and pulled back a little, placing his forehead against Jihoon’s. 

“Are you sure, Jihoonie? You’re giving me the lead?” He caressed Jihoon’s cheek, rubbing their noses against each other gently. The Omega nodded softly, calling for his Alpha again, which made Soonyoung growl once more. “_ Mine _.”

And as Soonyoung dived in to kiss him all over, to bring them as close as he could, to make Jihoon feel so amazing, Jihoon then knew he made the right decision. He was scared for so long of giving up his dominant side, for letting himself be vulnerable. But in the moment he asked Soonyoung to knot him, and the older did just that without any problem, so unlike their previous times when they couldn’t knot much, when it hurt. In that moment, when Soonyoung lowered himself to lick over his scent glands, like a promise of something more, when they were finally truly one. In that moment he felt the safest he ever did. And he knew, he would never want it any other way. His heart filled with happiness, and he could smell Soonyoung’s own filling the air around them. He buried his face in _ his Alpha’s _ hair and let himself fall asleep, feeling so safe, happy and full, like he never had before.

  
  


* * *

🔵✔️

“We mated!” Smiles bloomed over everyone’s faces at the news of their lovely hyungs that finally took the big step. Seokmin clapped and went to hug Jeonghan, which led to everyone hugging the newly mated Omega. “Yah! Let go of him!”

Soonyoung started laughing at his hyung sulking while trying to pull people off of his mate. When the commotion finally died down, and everyone took their seats all over the living room, Jihoon came to sit next to him. He smiled at the Omega, who leaned against him and closed his eyes for a moment. Soonyoung looked around, watching as Seungcheol kissed Jeonghan’s temple, the Omega smiling fondly at his lover. On another sofa, Mingyu was holding Minghao close, letting the other rest a little bit more, as he was probably still tired from the heat. In the corner of the room, Jun and Wonwoo were cuddling on a big beanbag, blanket covering their legs. Jun had his face pressed against the younger’s head, and Wonwoo was doing just the same thing as Soonyoung. When their eyes met, they smiled at each other. Wonwoo shifted his gaze a bit to the side, then back to Soonyoung, a question visible on his face. Soonyoung looked at Jihoon, who was snuggled against him, smiling softly. When his eyes went back to Wonwoo, the Omega had his head tilted, eyes big and questioning. Jun was also looking at him, smiling cheekily. 

“We’re together.” Soonyoung said it, not really thinking about the consequences of dropping that bomb. Everyone stilled, looking at him and Jihoon, who also looked at him with a curious gaze. It was completely silent for a few beats, and then everyone began shouting, running to them to hug them. Jihoon started slapping the hands reaching for him, hissing even, when too many people crowded his Alpha. Jun clapped happily where he was sitting, and then pulled a stunned Wonwoo closer to himself.

“Told you to wait a bit. Jihoon just needed the right push.” Wonwoo nodded, still not believing completely that was happening. He observed as Jihoon pushed everyone away from Soonyoung, similar to what Seungcheol was doing before, and hugged the Alpha, hissing and growling at the rest of the members who found his behaviour very amusing, teasing the Omega by touching Soonyoung randomly. Soonyoung was laughing, keeping Jihoon close and kissing the crown of his head, while swaying them slightly. Wonwoo smiled to himself slightly, seeing his best friend’s happiness, and then snuggled even closer to his own Alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Summary for 🔵✔️ readers: Jihoon goes into heat in the middle of the night. He wakes up Soonyoung. At first it goes as usually, with Jihoon in charge, but then he decides to let go and give the lead to Soonyoung. It goes awfuly smooth and both are the happiest in the world 😍]
> 
> ...........................
> 
> I am terribly sorry I was absent for so long. As some might have seen, I had some health problems, I couldn't update the last week, and later decided to delay, so we'd be able to focus on the comeback. This Friday I also had to take one more shift at work, so I was gone for a lot of time (I work 'night' shifts, and not a regular 8-hour ones, I went out from home at 3pm Friday and was back at 7am Saturday~). Then I had to help with my niece and nephew's bday party, so I couldn't update.  
The next story will be updated on time (the next weekend)!  
Also, I feel sorry to the author of this prompt, because I feel like I went in a different direction the author wanted. I changed half of the story, because it was even more angsty at first, and I didn't know how to make it happier. I'm really really sorry!   
I like this version a lot better than the first one, but I think I lost my ability to write pure fluff :(
> 
> As always, If you want to get more info, you can follow my [tt account](https://twitter.com/teitatoo_0615) or find it under the #snhnayr.  
If you want to add your own prompt, here's a [form](https://forms.gle/5VwVa1MdRtYWhTCw9) you can still fill!  
Remember to stream Home;Run and vote for SVT!!! Have a great week!!


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